Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/nineteenthcenturOOunse 


From  a painting  by  K.  Fournier. 

PASTEn:  IK  HIS  LABORATORY. 

All  will  appreciate  the  beautiful  significance  of  the  above  picture,  which  represents  one  of  the  greatest  of  scientific 
investigators  at  work  in  his  laboratory  for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  which  has  already  been  blessed  beyond  measure  by 
his  remedy  for  the  fearfni  dbease  of  hydrophobia. 


THE 


Nineteenth  ^ Century 

» ITS  HISTORY,  PROGRESS,  AND  - 
^ MARVELOUS  ACHIEVEMENTS  ^ 

The  Wonderful  Story  of  the  World  for  One  Hundred  Years 


COMING  WONDERS  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 

By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS 

THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 

By  LIEUT.  GEN.  NELSON  A.  MILES,  U.  S.  Army 

THE  SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 

By  REAR  ADMIRAL  GEO,  W.  MELVILLE,  Chief  Engineer  U.S,  Navy 

THE  PHILIPPINES 

By  HON.  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW 

HOME  DEVELOPMENT  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPANSION 

By  CHARLES  EMORY  SMITH,  Postmaster  General  U.  S. 

WEALTH  AND  WELFARE 

By  ROLAND  P.  FAULKNER,  University  of  Pennsylvania 

NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LITERATURE 

By  JULIAN  HAWTHORNE 

AFRICA  AND  THE  BRITISH -BOER  WAR 

Introduction  by  PAUL  B.  DU  CHAILLU 

THE  YELLOW  PERIL:  CHINA  AT  WAR  WITH  THE  WORLD 

By  W.  S.  WHITEFORD 

Embellished  with  nearly  100  full-page  Illustrations,  including  over 
200  Portraits  of  the  World^s  Great  Men 


PUBLISHED  BY 

AMERICAN  BOOK  AND  BIBLE  HOUSE 

...PHILADELPHIA... 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1900,  by  Charles  A.  Doe,  in  the  office 
OF  THE  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


^cfl^ } 

f\}LQ2  X 


CONTENTS 


1800  1900 

FIRST  DECADE 

1800 - 1810 


INTRODUCTION, 


PAGE 

. 3 


CHAPTER  I 

THE)  OPENING  CENTURY— THE  KNITTING  OF  THE  STATES 

Formative  period  of  America — War  with  Tripoli — Duel  between  Hamilton  and  Burr — 

The  Louisiana  Purchase — The  Presidential  Elections,  13 

CHAPTER  H 
NAPOLEON’S  FRANCE 

Bonaparte  crosses  the  Alps — Marengo — Hohenlinden — German  territorial  losses — 
Alexandria — Treaty  of  Madrid — Nelson  at  Copenhagen — French  evacuation  of 

— Resignation  of  Pitt — Peace  of  Amiens — Bonaparte  made  Consul  for  life,  . 21 

CHAPTER  HI 

NAPOLEON’S  FRANCE— (Continued) 

England  declares  war  against  France — The  Cadoudal  Conspiracy — Assassination  of 
the  Duke  d’Enghien — The  Boulogne  Coup — Napoleon  Emperor — The  Coronation 
— Surrender  at  Ulm — Trafalgar — Victory  of  Austerlitz, 29 

CHAPTER  IV 
NAPOLEON  ON  THE  HEIGHTS 

End  of  Holy  Roman  Empire — Jena  and  Auerstadt — Napoleon  at  Berlin — Berlin 
Decree — Eylau — Friedland — Tilsit — The  Milan  Decree — Entrance  of  Rome — The 
Surrender  of  Madrid — Napoleon  at  Vienna — Essling  and  Wagram— Arrest  of  the 
Pope — Divorce  of  Josephine, 38 


V 


VI 


CONTENTS 


CH/VPTER  V 

ENGLAND  AND  THE  WORLD  AT  LARGE 

PAGE 

Pitt’scareer — The  Irish  Union — Rise  of  Wellesley — Servian  Insurrection — Russia  and 

Turkey  at  war, 47 


SECOND  DECADE 

1810-1820 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND 

Tippecanoe — War  declared — Hull’s  surrender — The  “ Constitution  ” — Perry’s  victory 
— General  Jackson  and  New  Orleans — The  U.  S.  Bank — Monroe  elected — 
Florida  acquired  and  Alabama  admitted, 52 

CHAPTER  VH 

THE  DECLINE  OF  NAPOLEON’S  SWAY 

Marriage  with  Marie  Louise — Wellington  in  the  Peninsula — Disastrous  Russian 
Campaign — Allies  invade  France — Napoleon  abdicates — His  Exile,  Escape,  and 
Return — Waterloo — Estimate  of  Napoleon, 62 

CHAPTER  VIH 
ENGLAND  TO  THE  FRONT 

George  HI  insane — English  Colonial  Acquisitions — Effect  of  the  Great  Duke’s 
victories — Congress  of  Vienna — Aix-la-Chapelle — Growth  of  English  Rule  in 
India, 75 


CHAPTER  IX 

CONTINENTAL  EUROPE  AFTER  NAPOLEON’S  DOWNFALL 

'Mettemich — Russia  and  Bulgaria — Kutuzoff  against  the  Turks — IVJassacre  of  the 

.Mamelukes — Russia  elitering  Asia — Denmark  cedes  Norw^ay  to  Sweden,  ....  84 

CHAPTER  X 

WARRING  FOR  FREEDOM  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

The  Struggle  for  Independence  in  Venezuela,  New  Granada,  Buenos  Ayres,  and 
Mexico — Revolution  in  Chili — Miranda  and  Bolivar — Paraguay,  


92 


CONTENTS 


Vll 


THIRD  DECADE 

1820-1830 


CHAPTER  XI 

TEN  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  PEACE  AND  PROGRESS 

PAGE 

The  Missouri  Compromise — Monroe  and  the  Monroe  Doctrine — Opening  of  the  Brie 

Canal — Parry  tries  to  reach  the  Pole — ^Jackson’s  first  Administration,  96 

CHAPTER  XII 
THE  ENGLAND  OF  GEORGE  IV 

Trial  of  Queen  Caroline — Canning — English  African  Expedition  reaches  Bake  Tchad 

— The  Catholic  Emancipation  Act, 105 

CHAPTER  XIII 

CONTINENTAL  INSURRECTIONS  AND  INTRIGUES 

The  Bourbons  in  France  and  Spain — The  Carbonari — Congress  of  Great  Powers 
at  Eaybach — Victor  Emmanuel  Resigns — Greek  Revolution — Navarino — Russia 
conquers  Turkey, 112 


CHAPTER  XIV 

BIRTH  OF  NEW  STATES  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  AMERICAS 

Iturbide  in  Mexico — Central  American  Colonies  declare  their  Independence — Brazil 

separates  from  Portugal — Bolivar  Dictator  of  Peru,  122 


FOURTH  DECADE 

1830-1840 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  DAYS  OF  WEBSTER  AND  CLAY 

Andrew  Jackson — Webster-Hayne  Debate — The  Black  Hawk  War— Nullification  in 
South  Carolina — ^Jackson  defeats  Clay — Clay’s  Tariff  Compromise — ^Jackson  and 
the  United  States  Bank — Forming  the  Indian  Territory — War  with  the  Semi- 
noles, 126 


CONTENTS 


viii 


CHAPTER  XVI 

REFORM  MOVEMENT  IN  ENGLAND 

?Acir 

Death  of  George  IV — The  Reform  Bill — Successive  Melbourne,  Grey,  and  Peel 
Ministries — Death  of  William  IV  and  the  accession  of  his  Niece  Victoria — The 
Anti-Corn  Law  League — The  British  invade  Afghanistan, 134 

CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1830 

Overthrow  of  the  Bourbon  Dynasty — Louis  Philippe  declared  King — The  Belgian 
Insurrection — Revolt  of  the  Poles — The  Movement  in  Germany  and  Austria — 
Poland  absorbed  by  Russia — Don  Carlos — Dom  Pedro, 146 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
ALONG  THE  MEDITERRANEAN 

The  Powers  declare  Grecian  Independence — Mehemet  Ali  invades  Syria — Ibrahim 
Pasha  storms  Acre — Victory  of  Konieh — Russian  Intervention — The  French  and 
Abd-el"Kader — Migration  of  Boers  from  Cape  Colony, 154 


FIFTH  DECADE 

1840-1850 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  MEXICAN  WAR 

The  Ashburton  Treaty — The  First  Telegraph  Line — War  breaks  out  with  Mexico — 

Its  triumphant  progress  under  Taylor  and  Scott — Treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo 
and  Consequences — Death  of  two  Presidents — Gold  discovered  in  California,  . . 163 


CHAPTER  XX 

ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  AND  AFRICA 

The  Reform  Bill — The  Opium  War — The  Afghan  Insurrection — Cabool — The  Sikh 

War— Establishment  of  the  Transvaal  Republic  and  first  war  with  the  Boers,  . . 173 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1848 

Causes — The  World  aflame  with  War — Outbreaks  in  Sicil}^  and  Lombardy — Triumph 
of  the  Revolution  in  France — Abdication  of  Louis  Philippe — The  Republic — 

Fall  of  Metternich — Flight  of  the  Emperor — Radetzky — Garibaldi — The  Fall  of 
Rome — Treaty  of  Milan, 186 


CONTENTS 


IX 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1848  (Continued) 

PAGK 

The  Schleswig-Holstein  War — Prussian  Supremacy  among  German  States — Hungary 

proclaims  its  Independence — Kossuth — Resubjection  to  the  Hapsburgs,  . . . 201 


SIXTH  DECADE 

1850-1860 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

Clay’s  “Compromise  Measures’’ — The  Kansas  Conflict — ^John  Brown  at  Harper’s 

Ferry — Secession  in  Sight 211 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE  vs.  RUSSIA 

Russia  demands  Protectorate  over  Greek  Christians — England  and  France  sustain 
the  Sultan — The  Crimean  War — Sebastopol — ^The  Sepoy  Mutiny — Lucknow  and 
Cawnpore, 227 


SEVENTH  DECADE 

1860-1870 


CHAPTER  XXV 
THE  GREAT  REBELLION 

Abraham  Lincoln — Fort  Sumter — Bull  Run — The  Mason  and  Slidell  Affair — The  Sur- 
render of  Fort  Donelson — Battle  of  Pea  Ridge — The  “Monitor”  and  “Merrimac” 

— Shiloh — -Farragut  on  the  Mississippi, . 237 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  GREAT  REBELLION— (Continued) 

McClellan  and  Johnston  in  Virginia — “The  Seven  Days’  Battle” — Lee’s  Invasion 
of  Maryland — Antietam — The  Emancipation  Proclamation — Fredericksburg — 
Grant  invests  Vicksburg — Lee  invades  Pennsylvania — Fall  of  Vicksburg — 
Gettysburg, 246 


X 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  GREAT  REBELLION— (Continued) 

PAGE 

Sherman’s  March  to  the  Sea — Battle  of  the  Wilderness — Farragut  in  Mobile  Bay — 
Sheridan’s  Raid — Appomattox — Assassination  of  Lincoln — Aftermath  of  the 
War, 254 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 
THE  MAN  OF  BLOOD  AND  IRON 

Bismarck  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  Prussia — Second  Schleswig-Holstein  War — It 

results  in  War  between  Prussia  and  Austria — The  North  German  Confederation,  264 

CHAPTER  XXIX 
OTHER  EVENTS  IN  OTHER  LANDS 

Garibaldi  and  Victor  Emmanuel  — Maximilian  in  Mexico  — The  Fenians — The 

Dominion  of  Canada — Disraeli  and  Gladstone,  271 


EIGHTH  DECADE 

1870-1880 


CHAPTER  XXX 
OUR  “CENTENNIAL”  DECADE 

Reconstruction — The  Geneva  Award — The  ‘ ‘ Virginius  ’ ’ Affair — The  Hayes-Tilden 

Election — Resumption  of  Specie  Payment, 278 

CHAPTER  XXXI 

THE  FRANCO-PRUSSIAN  WAR 

Its  Origin — Defeat  of  MacMahon  at  Worth — Gravelotte — Sedan — The  Republic 

Proclaimed  in  Paris — German  Occupation — The  German  Empire  Restored,  . . . 287 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA 

Bulgarian  Atrocities — Famous  Berlin  Conference — Turko-Russian  War — Plevna — 
England  and  Afghanistan  again  at  War — Russia  Involved — English  Activity  in 
South  Africa, 298 


CONTENTS 


XI 


NINTH  DECADE 

1880-1890 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 
PROGRESS  AT  HOME 

Garfield’s  Assassination — Important  Congressional  Eegislation — Party  Changes — 

Labor  Strikes — New  States  Admitted, 311 

CHAPTER  XXXIV 

ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 

Beaconsfield  and  Gladstone — The  Agrarian  Movement  in  Ireland — Home  Rule — 

Sir  George  Colley’s  Defeat  by  the  Boers — The  Revolt  of  the  Mahdi — General 
Gordon, 321 


CHAPTER  XXXV 
A LOOK  AROUND  THE  WORLD 

France  and  the  Jesuits — Tonquin — The  Boulangist  Agitation — Spain  and  Cuba — 

Chili- Peruvian  War, 343 


TENTH  DECADE 

1890-1900 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 
UP  TO  THE  WAR  WITH  SPAIN 

The  Indians  Pacified — The  Columbian  Exposition, 351 

CHAPTER  XXXVII 
THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  WAR 


A Sketch  of  Leading  Events, 


. 355 


Xll 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

AFRICA— AND  THF  BOER  WAR 
(Introduction  by  Paul,  B.  Du  Chaiulu) 

PAGK 

The  Dark  Continent  a Sealed  Book — Dangers  Encountered  by  the  Writer — Migration 
of  the  Boers — Steady  Advance  of  the  White  Man— The  Dutch  Rebellion  of  1880 
— Wonderful  Diamond  Fields — Great  Discovery  of  Gold — War  of  1900 — Siege 
of  Eadysmith — Mafeking — English  Disaster — Boer  Defeat, 366 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 
NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LITERATURE 
(With  Introduction  by  Juuian  Hawthorne) 

The  French  School  of  Writers  of  Romance — De  Balzac  and  Dumas  p'^re — All 
Countries  Contribute  to  the  Literature  of  the  Centur}" — The  Modern  Newspaper 
the  most  Characteristic  Literary  Product  of  our  Age, 388 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY— OUR  NAVY 
(By  Rear-Admiral  Meuviuee) 

Our  Grand  Navy — Miraculous  Inventions  and  Discoveries — The  Sewing  Machine — 
Cotton  Gin — Steam  Engine — Telegraph — Bicycle — Electricity — Trolley — Auto- 
mobile,   400 


CHAPTER  XLI 

HOME  DEVELOPMENT  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPANSION 
(By  Charles  Emory  Smith,  Postmaster-General  U.  S.) 

United  States  Foremost  among  Nations — A Miracle-Working  Age — Unparalleled 
Value  of  our  Manufactures — Immense  Growth  of  Foreign  Trade — Producers  of 
the  World’s  Staples — Effect  of  the  “Open  Door”  in  China,  422 

CHAPTER  XLII 

THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 

(By  Lieutenant-General  Nelson  A.  Miles,  Commanding  U.  S.  Army) 

Service  Different  from  that  of  other  Nations — Mobilization  of  the  Regular  Troops — 

Vast  Labor  to  Equip  an  Army — The  Expedition  to  Cuba — Official  Account  of  the 
Operations  around  Santiago — Off  for  Puerto  Rico — Proposed  Demonstration  upon 
the  Coast  of  Spain, 434 


CONTENTS 


Xlll 


" CHAPTER  XEIII 

WEALTH  AND  WELFARE 
(By  Prof.  Roland  P.  Faulkner) 

Page 

Growth  and  Strength  of  the  Western  World  far  beyond  Anything  Known  before — 
Comparative  Population — Industrial  Growth — National  Wealth — Formation  of 
“Trusts” — Trades  Unions — Other  Economic  Conditions,  451 

CHAPTER  XEIV 
THE  PHILIPPINES 

(By  Hon.  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  U.  S.  Senator) 

End  of  Three  Hundred  Years  of  Spanish  Dominion — Aguinaldo  and  the  Revolutions 

— Expansion  of  our  Countr}- — New  Market  for  our  Products, 460 

CHAPTER  XEV 

EVOLUTION  AND  HISTORY  OF  THE  POLITICAL  PARTIES  FROM  1800-1900 

Their  Origin  and  Growth — ^Jefferson  and  his  Doctrines — Race  Questions — Intricate 

Problems — Platforms  and  Issues — Recent  Heroic  Measures  in  the  South,  ....  470 

CHAPTER  XEVI 

EXPLORATIONS  AND  DISCOVERIES  OF  THE  XIX  CENTURY 

Compare  Favorably  with  other  Periods — Great  Sacrifice  of  Eife  and  Wealth  in  African 
Explorations  — Steady  Advance  toward  the  North  Pole  — Dr.  Kane — Sir  John 
Franklin — Sensational  Expedition  under  Greely — Efforts  of  Livingstone — Du 
Chaillu — Stanley — De  Long — Peary— Nansen — Disastrous  Attempt  of  Andree,  . 476 

CHAPTER  XLVII 

THE  YELLOW  PERIL  : CHINA  AT  WAR  WITH  THE  WORLD 

The  Chinese  Empire — Form  of  Government — The  Mysterious  Forbidden  City — “ The 
Son  of  Heaven” — The  Empress  Dowager  — Hatred  of  Foreigners  — Secret 
Societies — Missionaries, 484 


CHAPTER  XLVIII 

THE  YELLOW  PERIL  (Continued) 

Uprising  of  the  “Boxers” — Massacre  of  Christians — Assassination  of  the  German 
Minister — Attack  and  Surrender  of  the  Taku  Forts — Japanese  Chancellor  Killed 
by  Imperial  Troops — Flight  to  the  English  Legation — Foreign  Ministers  Besieged 
— Heroic  Resistance — Conger’s  Historic  Message, 493 

CHAPTER  XLIX 
the  yellow  peril  (Continued) 

The  Civilized  World  Aghast — China  Defies  the  World — Terrible  Anger  of  Germany’s 
“War  Lord” — Massing  of  the  Allied  Forces — A^ast  Preparations  to  Resi.st 
Invasion — “ On  to  Pekin  ” — Stubborn  Resistance  of  the  Mongolians — The  Result,  501 


LIST  OF  FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  Great  Senate  of  1850 
Key  to  the  above 
Battle  of  Lake  Erie 

General  Scott  Entering  the  City  of  Mexico 
Fremont  Raising  the  “ Bear”  Flag 
First  Reading  of  the  Emancipation  Proclama- 
tion 

Battle  Between  the  “ Guerriere  ” and  the  “ Con- 
stitution.” 

Battle  of  New  Orleans 
Battle  of  Gettysburg 

An  August  Morning  with  Farragut  in  Mobile 
Bay 

Grant  and  Lee 

Action  Between  the  “ Merrimac”and  “Moni- 
tor” 

Battle  of  Manila  Bay 
Charge  at  San  Juan  Hill 
Capture  of  El  Caney 
Destruction  of  Cervera’s  Fleet 
The  Relief  of  Lucknow 
The  Defence  of  Mafeking 
Battle  of  Modder  River,  Nov.,  1899 
Battle  of  Eland’s  Laagte 
Battle  of  Trafalgar 

Rouget  de  Lisle,  Singing  the  “ Marseillaise  ” 
French  Army  Entering  Mexico. 

At  Woerth 
Surrender  of  Metz 
Congress  of  Vie,nna 
Napoleon  at  Tilsit 
Retreat  from  Russia 
Battle  of  Alma 
The  Burning  of  Sebastopol 
Before  the  Battle  of  Plevna 
After  the  Battle  of  Plevna 


Von  Moltke  Before  Paris 
Cavalry  Attack — Sedan 
“ The  Thin  Red  Line  ” 

“ 1806  ” 

Wellington  at  Waterloo 
“ Marshal  Vorwarts.”  Bliicher  at  Waterloo 
After  Waterloo 
Battle  of  Dundee 

Landing  of  the  Prussian  Army  at  Alsen 
Koniggratz 

Napoleon  III  at  Solferino 
Crown  Prince  Albert  at  Gravelotte 
Meeting  of  Bismarck  and  Napoleon  III  After 
Sedan 

Storming  of  Spichererberg 
Sea  Fight  on  the  Yalu  River  by  Japanese 
Cruiser  “ Matsushima  ” 

Japanese  Attack  on  Ping  Yang 
Battle  of  Navarino 

Emperor  William  II  at  the  Opening  of  the 
Kiel  Canal 
Suez  Canal 

Carpenter  Hall.  Place  of  First  Congress 
City  Hall,  New  York,  1789 
Capital,  Washinglon,  D.  C.,  1814 
Capital,  Washington,  D.  C.,  1900 
Evolution  of  Land  Transporation 
“The  Past  and  the  Present  ” 

Printing  Presses — 1800-1900 
Bronze  Cannon.  Early  part  of  the  XIX  Cen- 
tury 

Twelve-inch  Disappearing  Gun.  Latter  part 
of  the  XIX  Century. 

Panoramic  View  of  Nicaragua  Canal  Route 
New  York  in  1790 
New  York  in  1900 


XV 


XVI 


LIST  OF  FULL- PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Congressional  Library 
Great  Inventors 
American  Authors.  Plate  I 
American  Authors.  Plate  II 
German  Authors 
English  Authors 
French  Authors 
American  Statesmen.  Plate  I 
American  Statesmen.  Plate  II 
French  Statesmen.  Plate  I 
French  Statesmen 
English  Statesmen. 

German  Statesmen 
American  Soldiers.  Plate  I 
American  Soldiers.  Plate  II 
French  Soldiers 
German  Soldiers 
English  Soldiers 
Eminent  Divines 
Great  Patriots 
Eastern  Potentates 
Battle  of  Dundee 


Popes  of  the  XIX  Century 

American  Journalists 

Presidents  of  Republics 

Great  War  Presidents 

Noted  Explorers 

Noted  Women 

Great  Crowned  Heads 

Capitals  of  Our  Country 

English  Scientists 

German  Scientists 

French  Scientists 

Cannon — Old  and  New 

Edison  and  His  Phonograph 

Lieutenant-General  Nelson  A.  Miles 

Hon.  Charles  Emory  Smith 

Hon.  Chaunce}^  M.  Depew 

Julian  Hawthorne 

Paul  B.  Du  Chaillu 

Rear-Admiral  Geo.  W.  Melville 

Prof.  Roland  P.  Faulkner 

Pasteur  in  His  Laboratory 


LIST  OF  PORTRAITS 


Alfonso  III,  King  of  Spain 
Adams,  John  Quincy 
Andree,  Herr 
Anthony,  Susan  B. 

Bancroft,  George 
Barton,  Clara 
Bazaine,  Marshal 
Bennett,  James  Gordon 
Beecher,  Henry  Ward 
Beaconsfield,  Lord 
Blaine,  James  G. 

Bliicher,  Field  Marshal 
Bolivar,  Simon 
Bonheur,  Rosa 
Bright,  Right  Hon.  John 
Bryant,  William  Cullen 
Byron,  Lord 
Calhoun,  John  C. 
Casimir-Perier,  M. 

Charcot,  M. 

Chase,  Salmon  P. 

Childs,  George  W. 

Clay,  Henry 
Dana,  Charles  A. 

Darwin,  Charles  R. 

Daudet,  Alphonse 
Davis,  Cushman  K. 

Davy,  Sir  Plumphry 
Decatur,  Com.  Stephen 
Dewey,  Admiral  George 
Depew,  Chauncey  M. 

De  Balzac,  Honore 
De  Lesseps,  Count  Ferdinand 
De  Musset,  Alfred 
De  Talleyrand,  Charles 
Diaz,  President  Porfirio 


Dickens,  Charles 
Dilke,  Sir  Charles 
Du  Chaillu,  Paul  B. 

Dumas,  Alexander 
Edison,  Thomas  A. 

Emperor  of  Japan 
Emerson,  R.  W. 

Ericsson,  John 
Faraday,  Michael 
Farragut,  Admiral  David  G. 
Faure,  M. 

Faulkner,  Prof.  Roland  P. 
Flammarion,  Camille 
Fox,  Right  Hon.  Charles  J. 
Franklin,  Benjamin 
Franklin,  Sir  John 
Franz  Joseph  I,  King  of  Aus- 
tria 

Frederick  Charles,  Prince  of 
Germany 

Frederick  HI  of  Germany 
Fulton,  Robert 
Gambetta,  Louis 
Garibaldi,  Giuseppe. 
Gladstone,  Rt.  Hon.  Wm.  E. 
Gordon,  Gen.  C.  G. 

Goethe 

Greely,  Gen.  A.  W. 

Greeley,  Horace 
Gregory  XVI,  Pope 
' Gresham,  Walter  Q. 

Grevy,  Frangois  Paul  Jules 
Guizot,  Francois 
Haecker 
Halstead,  Murat 
Hamilton,  Alexander 


Harte,  Bret 

Havelock,  Gen.  Sir  Henry 
Hawthorne,  Julian 
Heine 

Henry,  Joseph 
Herder 

Hohenlohe,  Prince 
Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell 
Howe,  Elias 
Howe,  Julia  Ward 
Hugo,  Victor 
Humbert  I,  King  of  Italy 
Huxley,  Thomas  H. 
Irving,  Washington 
Jackson,  Gen.  Andrew 
Jackson,  Gen.  T.  J. 
Jefferson,  Thomas 
Johnson,  Gen.  Albert  S, 
Johnston,  Gen.  Joe  E 
King  of  Siam 
Kitchener,  Gen.  Lord 
Koch,  Robert 
Kosciuszko,  Tadeusz 
Kossuth,  Lajos 
Kruger,  Paul 
Lamartine,  Alphonse 
Lasalle,  Ferdinand 
Lee,  Gen.  R.  E. 

Leo  XH,  Pope 
Leo  XHI,  Pope 
Lessing 

Lincoln,  Abraham 
Livingstone,  David 
Li  Hung  Chang 
Longfellow,  Henry  W. 
Longstreet,  Gen.  James 
xvii 


xviii 

Loubet,  President  M. 

Lowell,  James  Russell 

MacMahon,  Marshal 

Marconi,  William 

Medill,  Joseph 

Melville,  Rear  Admiral 

Miles,  Lieut. -Gen.  Nelson  A. 

Miller,  Hugh 

Mommsen 

Monroe,  James 

Moody,  Dwight  L. 

Morse,  Samuel  F.  B. 

Motley,  John  Lothrop 
Muller,  President  B. 

Murat,  Prince 

McKinley,  President  William 
McClellan,  Gen.  George  B. 
iNIcCormick,  Silas  H. 
McCullough,  J.  B. 

Napoleon  I. 

Nansen,  Fridjov 
Nelson,  Lord  Admiral 
Ney,  Marshal 

Nicholas  II,  Emperor  of  Rus- 
sia 

Oscar  I,  King  of  Sweden 
Parnell,  Charles  S. 

Pasteur,  Louis 
Peary,  Robert  E. 

Pelissier,  Marshal 
Pestalozzi 


LIST  OF  PORTRAITS 

Pitt,  Right  Hon.  William 
Pius  VH,  Pope 
Pius  VHI,  Pope 
Pius  IX,  Pope 
Poe,  Edgar  Allen 
Polk,  James  K. 

Porter,  Admiral  David  P. 
Raglan,  Field  Marshal  Lord 
Renan,  Joseph  Erneste 
Riley,  James  Whitcomb 
Roberts,  Field  Marshal  Lord 
Russell,  Lord 
Savage,  Minot  J. 

Scott,  Gen.  Winfield 
Scott,  Sir  Walter 
Schiller 
Schlegel 

Seward,  William  H. 

Shafter,  Gen.  William  R. 
Sherman,  John 
Sherman,  Gen.  William  T. 
Sheridan,  Gen.  Philip  H. 

Shah  of  Persia 
Silliman,  Benjamin 
Smith,  Charles  Emory 
Soult,  Marshal 
Spencer,  Plerbert 
Spurgeon,  Rev.  Charles  H. 
Stanley,  Plenry  M. 

Stephens,  Alexander  H. 
Stephenson,  Robert 


Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher 
Sultan  of  Turkey 
Swing,  David 
Taylor,  Gen.  Zachary 
Tennyson,  Lord 
Thiers,  Adolph 
Thomas,  Gen.  George  Henry 
Tesla,  Nicola 

Victoria,  Queen  of  England 
Von  Bismarck,  Prince  Otto 
Von  Bittenfeld,  General 
Von  Caprivi,  Count  Geo.  Leo 
Von  Humboldt,  Alexander 
Von  Liebig,  Justus 
Von  Moltke,  Field  Marshal 
Von  Roon,  General 
Washington,  George 
Watterson,  Henry 
Webster,  Daniel 
Wellington,  Duke  of 
Whitney,  Eli 
Whittier,  John  G. 

Wilhelmina  I,  Queen  of  Hol- 
land 

William  II,  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many 

Willard,  Frances  E. 

Winchell,  Alexander 
Wundthorst,  Ludwig 
Zola,  Emile 


INTRODUCTION 


A HUNDRED  years  are  but  a fraction  of  time  in  the  age  of  the  world, 
but  witbin  that  comparatively  brief  span  the  most  momentous  of 
events  have  had  their  being;  revolutions  sweep  across  the  globe, 
like  “ dreams  o’er  the  troubled  breast  of  sorrow  ” ; nations  rise  and  sink 
like  isles  in  the  ocean ; dynasties  come  and  go ; great  men  perform  their 
appointed  task  and  pass  to  their  reward;  and  the  peoples  of  the  earth, 
always  climbing  with  their  vision  fixed  upon  the  stars,  move  slowly,  per- 
haps with  checks  and  hesitation,  toward  the  ideals  of  civilization,  enlighten- 
ment, and  Christianity,  which  must  be  attained  before  the  full  sunburst  of 
that  dawning  when  the  mission  of  man  shall  be  accomplished  and  the  day 
of  wrong  and  evil  be  relegated  to  the  gloom  of  the  past  ages. 

The  hundred  years  drawing  to  a close  have  been  well  called  the  Won- 
derful Century,  for  in  many  of  its  marvels  it  has  surpassed  all  that  have 
gone  before.  The  most  striking  facts  relating  to  that  period  are  told  in  the 
following  pages,  and  in  no  way  can  these  be  more  impressively  set  forth 
than  by  a brief  glance  of  the  world  at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, and  by  its  comparison  with  the  attainments  reached  on  the  threshold 
of  the  twentieth  century. 

That  awful  tornado  of  hatred,  passion,  and  murder  known  as  the  Reign 
of  Terror,  in  which  a million  lives  were  sacrificed,  had  left  France  in  the 
shuddering  desolation  of  death  and  woe,  and  terrified  the  world  by  its 
atrocities ; but  from  the  wreck  and  ruin  had  risen  the  form  of  the  young 
Corsican  lieutenant,  and  already  the  eyes  of  all  France  were  drawn  toward 
him  through  his  dazzling  genius,  which  in  a brief  while  was  to  fill  Europe 
with  admiration,  fear,  and  dread,  and  stamp  Napoleon  Bonaparte  as  the 
greatest  military  genius  ever  born  into  this  world.  His  face  was  already 
turned  toward  other  peoples  and  lands,  and  this  conqueror  of  conquerors 
was  soon  to  play  shuttle-cock  with  crowns  and  dynasties  until  in  the  end, 
as  the  poet  has  said,  heaven  itself  interfered  to  check  the  ambition  of  him 
who  threatened  the  overturn  the  equilibrium  of  the  universe. 

Germany — there  was  no  Germany.  She  had  been  tossed  about,  torn 

3 


4 


INTRODUCTION 


asunder,  kicked  hither  and  thither,  a house  divided  against  itself,  and 
plaything  almost  since  the  far-away  days  of  Charlemagne.  The  feeble  light 
that  twinkled  in  the  sorely  harried  land  was  soon  to  be  stamped  out  utterly 
b^^  the  iron  heel  of  Napoleon.  Assigned  an  insignificant  place  on  the  map 
of  Europe  by  the  Peace  Congress  of  1814,  a half-century  more  was  to  pass 
before  the  German  Empire  should  emerge  from  the  gloom  and  take  its 
place  as  one  of  the  foremost  Powers  of  the  world. 

The  dry  rot  had  eaten  its  way  to  the  heart  of  Spain,  which  had  never 
rallied  from  the  blow  that  sent  her  invincible  Armada  to  the  bottom  of  the 
sea.  As  proud,  haughty,  and  defiant  as  she  is  to-day,  or,  rather,  as  she  was 
until  she  dared,  in  1898,  to  grapple  with  the  Giant  of  the  West,  she  lived  in 
the  glories  of  the  past.  Science,  art,  literature,  discovery,  and  invention 
stood  still.  It  was  under  the  flag  of  Spain  that  America  was  discovered 
and  the  Philippines  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  men.  Those  attain- 
ments exhausted  the  capacity  of  Spain  in  the  field  of  discovery  and  she  has 
rested  content  ever  since. 

Grand  old  England,  through  her  thousand  years  of  travail  and  sorrow, 
had  grown  and  waxed  strong  until  the  increasing  shadow  of  her  might  was 
thrown  across  the  crimson  plains  of  France  and  the  snowy  wastes  of  Rus- 
sia, which  was  feebly  struggling  out  of  the  barbaric  gloom  of  the  past. 
George  III  was  still  king,  except  when  his  brain  was  eclipsed  by  the  malady 
that  stirred  the  sympathy  of  every  one,  but  England,  by  hard  fighting, 
skilled  statecraft,  and  wise  leadership,  had  demonstrated  that  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  is  the  hope  of  mankind,  and  that  through  him  the  universal  reign  of 
right  is  ultimately  to  bless  the  world. 

The  United  States  had  taken  its  position  among  the  nations  of  the 
world,  but  it  was  still  in  its  infancy.  The  ashes  of  the  immortal  Washing- 
ton lay  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  his  former  Secretary  of 
State,  had  assumed  the  office  of  the  third  President,  with  promise  of  proving 
one  of  the  best  the  new  republic  has  ever  had.  The  number  of  States  had 
been  increased  by  three,  Vermont,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee,  but  what  was 
known  as  the  Great  West  was  comparatively  unsettled,  while  beyond  the 
Alleghenies  stretched  hundreds  of  thousands  of  square  miles  of  mountain, 
forest,  and  prairie,  of  which  no  more  was  known  than  Central  Africa.  The 
population  of  slightly  more  than  five  millions  was  mostly  strung  along  the 
sea  coast  from  Maine  to  Florida.  Nowhere  in  the  world  were  there  steam- 
boats, railway  lines,  telegraphs,  or  aii}^  one  of  the  astonishing  discoveries  and 
inventions  that  were  to  be  made  before  the  close  of  the  dawning  century. 

Benjamin  Franklin  had  startled  America  and  Europe  by  his  experi- 


INTRODUCTION 


5 


ments  in  electricity,  but  liis  glimpses  of  that  wonderland  were  vague  and 
impressive  only  because  of  their  hints  of  what  remained  to  be  explored. 
There  had  been  only  one  really  great  American  invention  made — that  of  the 
cotton  gin,  by  Eli  Whitney,  a native  of  Massachusetts,  but  engaged  in 
teaching  in  Georgia.  In  some  respects  this  remains  the  most  important 
invention  ever  perfected  in  this  countiy.  The  difficulty  of  freeing  cotton 
from  seed  was  so  great  that  its  culture  was  unprofitable  in  a region  whose 
climate  and  soil  were  intended  by  nature  for  it.  The  cotton  gin  enabled 
one  man  to  do  the  work  of  five  thousand  ; it  made  cotton  the  leading  indus- 
try of  the  South,  added  billions  to  its  wealth,  and  gave  it  a power  and  im- 
portance without  which,  it  has  been  said,  she  never  would  have  dared  to  pre- 
cipitate the  war  for  the  Union. 

In  Europe  the  century  just  closed  had  witnessed  the  invention  of  the 
pianoforte,  the  introduction  of  caoutchouc,  or  india-rubber  (though  the  vul- 
canizing process  remained  undiscovered  for  a long  time),  the  art  of  stereo- 
typing, the  chronometer,  vaccination,  the  hydraulic  press,  gas  lights,  lithog- 
raphy, galvanism,  and  the  discovery  of  oxygen. 

Now  let  us  leap  forward  for  a hundred  years  and  glance  backward  at  a 
few  of  the  marvels  of  the  wonderful  century  of  whose  history  it  is  the  prov- 
ince of  the  following  pages  to  tell. 

Spain  is  still  a weak  and  decaying  nation,  not  yet  recovered  from  her 
humiliation  at  the  hands  of  the  Republic  of  the  West ; Germany  stands 
forth  a towering,  mighty,  and  all-powerful  empire  ; Russia  is  so  tremendous 
in  her  strength  that  all  European  Powers  fear  her;  France,  volatile,  impul- 
sive, fitful,  but  still  great,  so  execrates  the  memory  of  the  once  mighty 
Napoleon,  who  has  lain  in  his  grave  for  four-score  years,  that  she  has 
become  a republic,  at  least  in  name ; Italy,  trodden  under  foot  and  once  the 
home  of  the  greatest  nation  of  antiquity,  is  unified  and  commands  the  re- 
spect of  the  world ; England  long  ago  so  extended  her  dominion  that  the 
sun  never  sets  upon  her  possessions ; she  has  pushed  her  conquests  in  all 
countries  in  every  part  of  the  habitable  globe,  and  with  her  prodigious  nav}^, 
exceeding  that  of  any  two  other  Powers,  she  remains  the  mistress  of  the 
seas,  still  pouring  out  her  blood  on  the  plains  of  South  Africa  in  the  effort 
to  subjugate  the  Boers,  who  are  unfortunate  enough  to  possess  the  richest 
gold  mines  discovered  since  creation. 

Within  the  period  named,  England  and  the  United  States  have  engaged 
in  another  war,  and,  like  brave  foes,  have  come  to  like  and  respect  each 
other  more  than  ever.  Clearer  than  at  any  previous  time  has  become  the 
truth  that  while  the  Latin  race  must  decrease,  the  Anglo-Saxon  must 


6 


INTRODUCTION 


increase,  and  that  the  hope  of  the  world  lies  in  the  dominance  of  the 
latter. 

Not  a nook  or  corner  of  the  immense  territory  of  the  United  States 
remains  unknown  or  unexplored.  The  continent  is  spanned  by  railwa}^  and 
telegraph  lines,  and  the  five  millions  have  become  seventy-five  millions.  If 
the  telegraph  wires  were  strung  along  end  to  end,  they  would  extend  far 
enough  to  reach  twice  to  the  moon  and  back  again.  The  lumbering  stage- 
coach has  given  place  to  the  palace  car,  whose  passengers  are  whirled 
across  the  country  at  the  rate  of  seventy  miles  an  hour,  while  the  automo- 
bile travels  half  as  fast  over  the  ordinary  highways  and  roads. 

A hundred  years  ago,  a man  had  to  peck  at  a flint  with  a piece  of  steel 
to  produce  a tiny  flame,  which  can  now  be  incited  by  an  inodorous  match ; 
persons  had  to  weary  themselves  in  climbing  to  the  upper  floors  of  high 
buildings,  to  which  they  are  now  luxuriously  lifted  ; the  housewife  raised 
her  flax  and  manufactured  her  own  linen,  from  which  the  clothing  of  the 
family  was  made;  clocks  and  watches  were  so  costly  that  the  majority 
depended  on  the  sun-dial  or  hour-glass  ; two  or  three  weeks  were  required  to 
sail  across  the  Atlantic,  which  is  now  done  by  a floating  palace  in  considerably 
less  than  a week ; the  wooden  war  ships  have  given  place  to  those  with  im- 
pregnable steel  armor;  postage  that  was  formerly  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty-five 
cents  is  now  two  cents  ; the  slow,  tedious  needlework  is  supplanted  by  the 
swift  sewing  machine ; men  hold  converse  a thousand  miles  apart,  and 
recognize  one  another’s  voices ; missiles  weighing  a thousand  pounds  are 
hurled  ten  miles  by  the  colossal  pieces  of  ordnance ; trolley  lines  have 
taken  the  places  of  the  lumbering  coaches ; the  nation,  through  the  bloody 
sweat  of  Civil  War,  has  been  purified  of  the  stain  of  slavery,  whose  baleful 
seeds  were  sown  in  the  early  colonial  days  of  our  countr}^ 

Who  shall  fully  set  forth  the  progress  that  has  been  made  in  science, 
art,  literature,  discovery,  and  invention  ? As  has  been  said,  the  century 
now  drawing  to  a close  has  been  more  marvelous  in  some  respects  than  all 
that  have  gone  before. 

Among  the  leaders  in  the  arts  of  peace  were  Humboldt,  the  German, 
and  greatest  of  all  descriptive  naturalists  ; Cuvier,  the  Swiss  naturalist  and 
paleontologist;  Hegel,  the  German  philosopher;  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  the 
English  chemist,  natural  philosopher,  and  inventor  of  the  safety  lamp  for 
miners  ; Arago,  the  distinguished  French  savant ; Sir  William  Hamilton, 
the  Scotch  metaphysician  and  logician  ; Faraday,  the  eminent  physical  phi- 
losopher, who  made  important  discoveries  relative  to  magnetic  electricity 
and  light ; Comte,  the  French  philosopher  and  author  of  positive  philos- 


INTRODUCTION 


opliy  ; Liebig,  the  great  chemist  and  professor  at  Munich  ; John  Stuart 
Mill,  the  English  philosopher ; Sir  David  Brewster,  the  Scottish  scientist 
and  editor  of  the  Edinburgh  EncyclopcEdia  ; Le  Verrier,  the  brilliant  French 
astronomer,  who  proved  by  mathematical  calculation  that  there  must  be 
another  planet  be^mnd  the  orbit  of  Uranus  and  told  when  and  where  it 
would  come  into  view,  August  lo,  1846.  It  was  discovered  exactly  at  the 
point  named  a few  days  later  than  the  date  set,  and  is  now  known  as 
Neptune.  There  were  also  Tyndall,  a natural  philosopher  and  a clear  and 
eloquent  expounder  of  scientific  subjects  ; Agassiz,  the  Swiss  naturalist^ 
and  others  of  less  prominence. 

In  the  field  of  literature  are  found  such  names  as  the  German  Goethe ; 
Wordsworth,  poet-laureate  of  England  after  Southey j Sir  Walter  Scott,  poet 
and  unrivaled  novelist;  Coleridge,  the  poet;  Beranger,  the  lyric  poet  of 
France  ; Moore,  the  Irish  lyric  poet ; Lord  Byron,  one  of  the  greatest  of  all 
poets;  Carlyle,  of  Scotland,  with  his  graphic,  powerful,  and  picturesque 
style ; Prescott,  the  American  historian  ; Bancroft  and  Motley,  eminent  in 
the  same  field  ; Pushkin,  the  greatest  of  Russian  poets,  and  Tolstoi,  the 
greatest  of  their  novelists;  Macaulay,  the  most  brilliant  of  English  his- 
torians ; Victor  Hugo,  the  eminent  French  poet,  dramatist,  and  novelist ; 
our  own  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  the  “ Sage  of  Concord  ” ; Hawthorne, 
whose  literary  style  approached  perfection  ; Alfred  Tenn3^son,  poet-laureate 
of  England  ; Thackeray,  the  profoundest  of  English  novelists  ; Dickens, 
the  most  popular  story  writer  of  his  day  ; Cooper,  whose  tales  of  Indian  and 
pioneer  life  are  poetical,  graphic,  and  ideally  American ; Irving,  whose 
humor  is  delicious  and  delightful ; Longfellow,  Bryant,  Holmes,  Whittier, 
Poe,  and  poets  of  lesser  brilliancy. 

In  the  field  of  invention,  however,  the  Americans  surpass  all  other  people. 
Since  the  passage  of  the  law  of  1836,  which  introduced  a new  era  in  that 
field,  the  number  of  patents  issued  to  Americans  exceeds  half  a million. 
While  the  vast  majority  of  these  were  worthless,  yet  among  them  have  been  a 
number  of  era-producing  contrivances,  whose  influence  is  beyond  estimate. 

Reference  has  alread}^  been  made  to  the  cotton  gin,  but  perhaps  the 
most  famous  is  the  electro-magnetic  telegraph,  the  production  of  Professor 
S.  F.  B.  Morse,  of  Massachusetts.  The  first  telegraph  line  was  laid  be- 
tween Washington  and  Baltimore,  and  the  first  public  message  ever  passed 
over  a wire  was  on  May  29,  1844,  from  Baltimore  to  Washington,  announc- 
ing the  nomination  of  James  K.  Polk  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States. 

Elias  Howe,  Jr.,  obtained  his  first  patent  for  the  sewing  machine  in 
1845  ) Charles  Goodyear,  after  ten  years’  experimentation,  produced  perfectly 


8 


INTRODUCTION 


vulcanized  india-rubber  in  1844;  John  Ericsson,  the  Swedish  inventor,  who 
spent  most  of  his  life  in  this  country,  first  applied  the  screw  to  the  propulsion 
of  war  vessels,  made  a number  of  useful  inventions,  and  completed  the  “ Mon- 
itor ” in  the  spring  of  1862,  just  in  time  to  check  the  terrifying  career  of  the 
Confederate  iron-clad  “ Merrimac,”  that  famous  battle  introducing  a new 
era  in  naval  warfare ; Cyrus  Hall  McCormick,  in  1834,  made  his  reaper,  of 
which  William  H.  Seward  said,  that,  owing  to  its  invention,  the  line  of 
civilization  moved  westward  thirty  miles  each  year ; and  Alexander  Graham 
Bell  perfected  his  telephone  in  1876.  The  most  wonderful  inventions,  how- 
ever, have  been  those  of  Thomas  A.  Edison,  the  Wizard  of  Menlo  Park,’^ 
whose  researches  in  the  field  of  electricity  have  rendered  his  name  illus- 
trious on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 

A few  of  Edison’s  marvelous  achievements  have  been  the  quadruplex 
system  of  telegraphy,  the  carbon  telephone,  the  phonograph,  the  micro- 
phone, the  vinetoscope,  the  microtasimeter,  and  the  kinetoscope.  In  his 
chosen  field,  Mr.  Edison  has  been  aided  by  the  Servian  professor,  Nikola 
Tesla,  whose  inventive  genius  is  hardly  second  to  that  of  Edison  himself. 
The  greatest  discovery  of  Tesla  was  announced  in  June,  1897,  and  consists 
of  telegraphing  without  the  aid  of  wires. 

The  system  upon  which  Signor  Marconi  has  been  at  work  for  a con- 
siderable time  received  a decisive  test  during  the  races  for  the  “ America’s  ” 
cup  in  the  autumn  of  1899.  (Apparatus  was  successfully  installed  on  the 
steamer  “ Ponce  ” and  the  Navesink  Highlands  ; and  the  first  messages  sent 
by  wireless  telegraphy  over  a considerable  distance  in  this  country  were 
fiashed  between  the  stations  on  September  29,  during  the  Dewey  naval 
parade,  the  communication  being  perfect,  even  at  the  time  the  “ Ponce  ” was 
as  far  up  the  North  River  as  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Street.)  In  an 
address  at  the  Royal  Institute,  London,  February  2,  1900,  M.  Marconi  stated 
that  during  the  naval  manoeuvres  he  had  discovered  that  messages  could  be 
sent  from  one  ship  to  another  sixty  miles  distant.  He  added  that  his 
method  was  being  used  with  fair  success  by  the  British  in  South  Africa. 
It  is  safe  to  say  that  this  remarkable  invention  has  passed  the  experimental 
■stage  and  has  taken  its  place  as  one  of  the  most  wonderful  achievements  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 

A PROPHECY 

Had  any  man  a hundred  years  ago  sought  to  win  the  reputation  of  a 
lunatic,  he  could  have  taken  no  surer  step  than  to  prophesy  that  the  close 
^of  the  century  would  see  messages  flashed  under  the  ocean  from  continent 
-to  coutineiit  in  a few  seconds ; passengers  traveling  in  comfort  at  the  rate 


INTRODUCTION 


9 


of  seventy  miles  an  lionr ; people  a thousand  miles  apart  conversing  with 
and  recognizing  the  voices  of  one  another ; crossing  the  Atlantic  in  less 
than  six  days  ; telegraphing  not  only  with,  but  without  the  aid  of  wires  ; the 
transfer  of  the  prodigious  power  of  Niagara  Falls  to  a distance  of  more  than 
a score  of  miles  ; fighting  with  battleships  impregnable  against  the  heaviest 
artillery ; traveling  over  ordinary  highways  at  the  rate  of  thirty  or  forty 
miles  an  hour;  sewing  cloth  by  means  of  machinery  that  does  the  work  of 
hundreds  of  men  and  women ; being  lifted  in  luxurious  comfort  to  the 
upper  rooms  of  buildings  more  than  twenty  stories  in  height — and  all  this 
and  much  more  in  our  own  countr}^,  whose  States  have  grown  in  number 
from  nineteen  to  forty-five,  and  whose  population  has  expanded  from  five 
millions  to  seventy-five  millions. 

And  3^et  all  this  has  come  to  pass.  It  was  Patrick  Henry  who  said  that 
the  only  means  of  forecasting  the  future  is  by  recalling  the  past.  Applying 
this  rule,  it  would  seem  that  the  wildest  prophecy  is  warranted,  and  the 
hardest  task  of  all  is  that  of  deciding  what  will  not  be  invented  or  discov- 
ered. Avoiding  aimless  speculation,  we  appear  to  be  warranted  in  believing 
that  among  the  achievements  of  the  twentieth  centuiy  will  be  the  following: 

At  present  seven-eighths  of  the  energy  latent  in  coal  is  lost  in  convert- 
ing it  into  power.  When  we  learn  how  to  utilize  this  seven-eighths,  steamers 
will  cross  the  Atlantic  in  three  da\^s,  and  the  journey  from  New  York  to 
San  Francisco  will  be  made  in  twxnty-four  hours. 

Since  heat  can  be  furnished  from  a central  distributing  point  to  any 
dwelling  as  desired,  it  follows  that  cold,  or  rather  coolness,  can  be  provided 
in  the  same  manner.  Indeed,  it  is  already  done,  and  one’s  home  can  be 
rendered  as  comfortable  during  the  oppressive  sultriness  of  summer  as  amid 
the  arctic  blasts  of  winter.  In  this,  as  in  all  instances  where  steam  has 
been  relied  upon,  electricity  will  be  the  source.  Pervading  all  things  as  it 
does,  it  will  when  fully  harnessed  take  its  place  as  the  most  effective  servant 
of  man. 

Wireless  telegraphy  will  be  universal,  and  its  natural  corollaiy  will  be 
the  transfer  of  power  b^^the  same  means.  Such  an  achievement  ma\"  be  ac- 
cepted as  close  upon  fulfillment.  It  has  been  estimated  that  the  world’s 
supply  of  coal  will  be  exhausted  in  two  hundred  }^ears,  but  we  need  feel  no 
anxiety  on  account  of  our  descendants,  for  long  before  the  close  of  that 
period  a new  and  all-sufficient  source  of  fuel  is  certain  to  be  discovered  or 
provided.  The  energ}^  of  the  winds  and  tides,  which  has  gone  to  waste 
since  first  the^^  blew  and  rose  and  fell,  will  furnish  an  inconceivable  motor 
for  man. 


10 


INTRODUCTION 


Mr.  Nikola  Tesla,  the  profound  thinker  and  investigator,  published  a 
remarkable  article  in  the  Cenhny  Magazine  for  June,  1900,  entitled  “ The 
Problem  of  Increasing  Human  Energy,  with  Special  Reference  to  the  Har- 
nessing of  the  Sun’s  Energy.”  Sir  William  Crookes,  in  his  presidential 
address  before  the  British  Association,  in  1898,  startled  the  scientific  world 
by  the  declaration  that  the  increase  of  population  and  the  comparative 
decrease  of  acreage  devoted  to  wheat  raising  made  it  inevitable  that,  unless 
some  substitute  is  found,  mankind  the  world  over  would,  within  the  coming 
quarter  of  a century,  be  compelled  to  face  famine  or  a prodigious  increase 
of  prices.  Sir  William  impressively  insisted  that  the  wheat  area  through- 
out the  world  had  ceased  to  expand,  and  the  only  practical  suppl}^  for  future 
necessities  lay  in  some  3^et  undiscovered  process  of  increasing  the  produc- 
tivity of  the  soil  already  available. 

Of  necessity,  the  basis  of  all  such  fertilizing  material  must  be  nitrog- 
enous matter.  It  is  impracticable  to  draw  this  from  the  earth’s  supply, 
such  as  the  Chilian  nitrate  beds,  because  of  the  expense  involved.  But  the 
air  is  an  exhaustless  storehouse  of  nitrogen,  and  the  chemist  who  shall 
discover  how  to  extract  it  in  salable  form  will  confer  a measureless  blessing 
upon  his  fellow-men. 

Mr.  Tesla,  in  the  article  mentioned,  maintains  that  while  he  has  not 
accomplished  this  astounding  result,  he  has  taken  several  clearly  defined 
steps  toward  it.  Scientific  men  have  known  for  some  time  that  electrical  dis- 
charges will  free  or  oxidize  nitrogen  in  the  air,  but  hitherto  the  electrical 
discharge  or  flame  used  has  been  only  three  or  four  inches  in  length,  the 
chemical  action,  as  a consequence,  being  feeble,  and  the  process  of  oxidation 
wasteful.  Mr.  Tesla,  by  investigating  the  effects  of  the  different  forms  of 
electrical  waves,  and  by  noting  the  influence  of  the  atmospheric  pressure 
and  the  temperature  and  presence  of  water  and  other  bodies,  has  ascertained 
the  best  conditions  for  producing  the  most  intense  chemical  action  of  the 
discharge.  The  oxidizing  of  the  electrical  flame  has  been  made  much  more 
intense,  and  by  violent  agitation  of  the  electrified  molecules  of  the  atmos- 
phere a powerful  affinity  has  been  developed  between  the  two  normally 
indifferent  constituents  of  the  air,  so  that  they  readily  blend.  He  expects 
soon  to  perfect  special  arrangements  for  the  fixation  of  the  compounds 
found,  steam  being  the  most  effective  agent  to  that  end.  Mr.  Tesla  makes 
the  claim  that  he  has  fixed,  theoretically  at  least,  atmospheric  nitrogen  in 
exhaustless  quantities.  If  this  be  really  true,  its  importance  to  science 
and  mankind  is  be^^ond  calculation. 

We  seem  warranted,  therefore,  in  including  among  our  prophecies  of 


INTRODUCTION 


11 


the  near  future  the  solving  of  this  all-important  problem,  when  the  question 
of  the  world’s  food  supply  will  be  answered  and  all  danger  of  starvation  to 
future  generations  will  be  fully  removed. 

Aerial  navigation  has  made  little  real  progress  since  the  day  of  the 
Montgolfiers,  but  the  experiments  of  the  last  few  years  point  unerringly  to 
the  solution  of  the  problem.  An  airship  suspended  in  space  at  present  is 
one  of  the  most  helpless  of  objects,  being  at  the  mercy  alike  of  tornado  and 
zephyr,  but  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  long  remain  thus.  One  pecu- 
liar fact  thus  far  has  marked  the  majority  of  attempts  at  ballooning — the 
aeronaut  has  thought  it  necessary  to  ascend  to  a height  of  one  or  two 
miles,  whereas  the  only  altitude  requisite,  as  is  self-evident,  is  sufficient  to 
clear  the  treetops  and  steeples. 

In  the  day  of  universal  aerostation  each  man  will  keep  his  airship,  or 
aircraft,  or  whatever  it  may  be  termed,  at  his  door,  as  ready  to  serve  him 
as  his  bicycle  or  automobile,  and  with  no  more  regard  to  wdiid  than  is  given 
by  the  steamboat  or  railway  train.  Then  sports  and  races  in  the  upper  air 
will  be  as  common  as  they  are  now  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Since  vision  is  the  result  of  an  impression  carried  to  the  brain,  the 
means  will  be  found  for  conveying  such  impression  when  nature  has  for- 
gotten to  furnish  the  eyes  or  accident  has  destroyed  them.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  deafness,  which,  like  blindness,  will  be  unknown,  while  insanity 
will  be  equally  amenable  to  surgery  and  medicine. 

Medicine  itself  will  cease  to  be  an  experimental  science.  Every  dis- 
ease will  have  its  specific  remedy,  as  quinine  is  now  the  specific  for  ma- 
laria, and  our  children  and  grandchildren  will  wonder  at  our  ignorance  in 
allowing  our  friends  to  die  of  any  disease,  when  the  reined}^  was  at  our 
doors.  The  discovery  of  the  germs  of  many  diseases  indicate  that  this 
beneficent  solution  is  at  hand,  and  that  human  life  as  a consequence  will 
be  vastly  prolonged.  Indeed,  the  discovery  of  how  to  renew  our  tissues 
may  result  in  prolonging  life  indefinitely,  until  the  ages  of  the  patriarchs  of 
Biblical  times  are  again  attained. 

Medical  practitioners  have  a.lready  reached  the  point  of  recognizing 
that  every  disease  has  its  limitations,  and  the  most  the  physician  can  do  is 
to  hold  himself  prepared  for  emergencies.  No  wisdom  or  skill  can  shorten 
by  a single  hour  the  course  of  typhoid  fever,  and  yet  the  perilous  “ side 
issues  ” may  be  guarded  against  and  robbed  of  their  fatal  power. 

One'  defect  of  to-day  will  surely  look  grotesque  to  the  next  generation 
— that  is  that  dwellings  and  buildings  were  liable  to  burn  down, 
causing  destruction,  not  only  of  property,  but  .of  life.  Some  simple 


12 


INTRODUCTION 


method  is  sure  to  be  found  whereby  all  structures  may  be  rendered 
immune  against  fire. 

Accidents  can  never  be  fully  eliminated  from  human  affairs,  but  they 
can  be  greatly  lessened,  so  that  if  a boat  sinks,  no  man,  woman,  or  child 
need  drown ; or,  if  a person’s  neck  is  broken,  it  shall  be  reset  and  adjusted 
with  neatness  and  dispatch. 

Of  course,  we  shall  swim  through  and  under  water  with  our  artificial 
fins  and  means  of  propulsion  that  will  cause  the  natural  inhabitants  to  turn 
green  with  envy.  The  ocean  shall  be  forced  to  yield  the  treasures  that  have 
moldered  in  its  caverns  miles  below  the  surface  for  untold  ages ; diamonds 
shall  be  as  ready  of  manufacture  as  building  bricks ; wherever  gold  exists, 
it  shall  be  located  by  a child’s  divining  rod ; the  lost  arts  shall  be  rediscov- 
ered, the  Sphinx  shall  be  made  to  speak,  and  all  the  knowledge  of  the 
ancients  shall  become  the  heritage  of  the  moderns,  and  shall  be  added  to  a 
hundred-fold. 

If  Mars  and  Venus  have  inhabitants,  shall  we  ever  be  able  to  com- 
municate with  them  ? Why  not  ? It  is  b}^  no  means  certain  that  the 
Marsians  have  not  been  striving  for  some  time  to  attract  our  attention  by 
signaling.  It  will  be  no  difficult  task  to  signal  to  them  in  turn,  but  the 
insuperable  obstacle  seems  at  present  to  be  the  impossibility  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  either  world  formulating  a code  whose  meaning  can  be  read  by  the 
people  on  the  other  planet.  And  yet  some  American,  by  and  by,  will  hit 
upon  the  key. 

It  is  believed  by  many  that  the  Marsians  have  made  much  greater  mental 
advancement  than  we.  If  this  is  so,  perhaps  they  will  show  us  how  to  talk 
to  them.  Then  Mars  may  serve  as  a way  station,  and  telegraph  our  mes- 
sages to  Jupiter,  with  which,  perhaps,  the  Marsians  are  alread}^  in  commu- 
nication, and  Jupiter  will  telegraph  to  Saturn,  and  so  on  until,  when  man’s 
age  has  grown  to  a thousand  or  more  years,  we  may  establish  regular  com- 
munication with  the  remote  corners  of  the  universe.  But  this  field  is  too 
limitless,  too  bewildering,  to  dwell  upon. 

But  it  nia}^  be  added,  in  all  humility  and  awe,  that  there  seems  no 
ground  for  the  hope  that  we  are  nearing  a scientific  solution  of  the  question 
of  a future  life.  Not  that  there  can  be  any  reasonable  doubt  of  such  exist- 
ence, for  the  greatest  of  human  minds  have  long  believed  it,  but  as  3^et  no 
scientific  proof  has  been  possible,  nor  does  it  seem  likely  ever  to  be  possi- 
ble, but,  none  the  less,  shall  aii}^  one  dare  to  declare  that  even  in  this  life 
the  full  splendor  of  the  soul-thrilling  truth  shall  not  shine  forth  with  the 
clearness  of  the  noonday  sun  ? 


CHAPTER  I 


(FIRST  DECADE) 

THE  OPENING  CENTURY — THE  KNITTING  OF  THE  STATES 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  Europe,  so  far  as  appre- 
ciable or  appreciated  history  is  concerned,  was  almost  all  the  world. 
And  all  Europe  was  engaged  in  war.  It  had  been  so  for  many  years 
before  ; it  was  to  continue  so. 

There  existed,  prior  to  the  French  Revolution,  the  remains  of  the 
Feudal  system,  the  detestable  social  institution  by  which  the  life  of  every 
European  people  of  any  importance  was  governed  from  the  opening  of  the 
ninth  until  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  centuries,  and  by  which  many  of  the 
forms  of  our  modern  life  are  still  affected.  Though  common  to  the  whole 
of  Europe,  France  endured  the  system  to  its  last  and  in  its  most  intolerable 
forms.  Briefly  stated.  Feudalism  regarded  all  the  land  of  a country  as  the 
property  of  its  king,  who  divided  it  among  his  lords,  who  in  turn  divided  it 
among  their  several  dependents.  Inferior  to  even  the  last  of  these  there 
existed  almost  everywhere,  in  the  earlier  times,  a class  of  the  positively 
unfree.  The  lot  of  those  who  were  in  absolute  slavery  excluded  them  from 
the  influences  of  feudality  as  a social  and  legal  institution. 

It  was  really  a savage  age.  An  age  in  which  ‘‘  the  pressure  of  taxation 
and  oppression  of  nobles  ” kept  the  farmer  hopelessly  poor  and  the  farm 
untilled  ; an  age  when  the  taxgatherer  was  everywhere ; when  the  peasant 
who  killed  a wild  boar  which  trampled  his  crops  could  be  thrown  into 
prison;  when  the  weeding  of  vegetables  was  forbidden  because  it  tended  to 
disturb  the  young  partridges  ; when  corn  could  only  be  ground  in  the  lord’s 
mill  and  bread  baked  only  in  his  oven  ; when  the  peasant  must  beat  the 
marsh  all  night  to  prevent  the  frogs  from  disturbing  the  rest  of  his  lord 
and  lady. 

Such  was  France  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  to 

13 


14 


THE  OPENING  CENTURY 


encourage  manufactures  she  overtaxed  the  farmer ; when  criminals  were 
tortured  at  the  wheel,  their  limbs  being  previously  broken  by  blows  from  a 
heavy  iron  bar;  when  workingmen  were  little  less  than  slaves,  and  when, 
as  one,  they  suddenly  rose  to  avenge  the  wrongs  which  had  embittered 
their  lives. 

It  has  been  well  said  that  the  internal  history  of  France  during  a 
period  of  two  3^ears  from  the  fall  of  the  monarchy  is  perhaps  the  most 
appalling  record  which  the  annals  of  the  human  famil}^  present.  “ There 
was  much  suffering  among  the  people,  and  the  pressure  of  hunger  helped 
to  make  them  fierce.  They  were  agitated  by  fears  for  the  success  of  the 
revolution,  which,  if  it  gave  them  scant  supply  of  bread,  undeniably  freed 
them  from  the  intolerable  oppression  of  their  superiors.” 

Such  was  the  French  Revolution.  “A  fury  incomprehensible  and 
almost  incredible — a thirst  of  blood  absolutely  insatiable,  possessed  the 
minds  of  the  people.  There  were  eight  or  ten  thousand  suspected  persons 
crowded  into  the  horrible  prisons  of  Paris.  Every  afternoon  carts  laden 
with  unhappy  men  and  women,  condemned  for  iniaginar}^  offenses,  passed 
along  the  streets  to  the  place  of  death.  The  daily  average  at  first  was  low, 
not  exceeding  eight  or  ten.  A little  later  it  stood  at  forty  or  fift}^  Toward 
the  close  of  the  Reign  of  Terror  it  ranged  sometimes  as  high  as  eighty.  It 
was  reckoned  that  not  fewer  than  a million  of  persons  were  murdered  by 
the  infuriated  French  people  before  the  merciful  reaction  occurred  which 
terminated  the  unutterable  horrors  of  the  time.” 

That  was  the  French  Revolution  which  set  all  Europe  by  the  ears — all 
Europe,  numbering  about  170,000,000  souls,  with  about  4,000,000  trained 
fighters. 

The  other  great,  and  almost  synchronous.  Revolution — our  own  against 
Great  Britain — needs  no  telling.  Every  Fourth  of  July  we  celebrate  the 
courage  of  the  handful  of  patriots  who  declared  the  independence  of  the 
thirteen  Colonies  in  the  teeth  of  14,000,000  Englishmen.  That  independ- 
ence declared  and  won,  the  thirteen  Colonies  became  thirteen  States  under 
the  accepted  Constitution.  When  Washington  was  inaugurated  first 
President  of  the  new  nation  he  had  for  his  cabinet  four  officers — the  Secre- 
taries of  State,  Treasury,  and  War,  and  an  Attorney-General.  There  was 
another  department  of  the  government,  the  post-office,  but  the  Postmaster- 
General  was  not  then  a member  of  the  cabinet. 

To-day  ever}^  village  in  the  land  has  its  post-office ; then  only  the  chief 
towns  and  villages  received  the  mail.  In  1790  there  were  but  seventy-five 
post-offices  in  the  whole  United  States  ; now  there  are  more  than  50,000, 


THE  OPENING  CENTURY 


15 


and  at  this  writing  there  are  more  than  sixty  post-offices  wherein  rural 
delivery  letters  can  be  registered  by  carriers.  The  first  census  (1790) 
showed  a population  of  a little  less  than  4,000,000.  The  most  populous 
State  was  Virginia.  Then,  in  order,  came  Pennsylvania,  North  Carolina, 
Massachusetts,  New  York,  Mainland,  South  Carolina,  and  Connecticut. 
Horace  Scudder  says  of  these  four  millions,  of  whom  a little  more  than 
one-fifth  were  slaves,  that  they  “ occupied  a belt  of  country  which  la}^  chiefly 
between  the  Alleghenies  and  the  sea.  The  most  thickly  parts  were  along 
river  courses  and  about  commodious  harbors.  So  close  to  the  sea-coast  did 
most  of  the  people  live  that  the  centre  of  population  was  twenty-three  miles 
east  of  Baltimore.”  In  all  this  Atlantic  territory  there  were  but  five  towns 
which  had  a population  of  more  than  10,000.  They  were  Philadelphia, 
New  York,  Boston,  Charleston,  and  Baltimore. 

In  his  early  exploits  as  a surveyor  of  land  along  the  head-waters  of  the 
Ohio,  Washington  had  learned  to  look  to  the  farther  West  as  containing  the 
hopes  of  the  country.  To  condense  Mr.  Scudder’s  admirable  statement : 
The  settlers  in  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  valleys  had  a long  and  toilsome 
journey  over  the  mountains  to  reach  the  Atlantic  States,  but  the  broad  rivers 
offered  them  easy  access  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  By  the  terms  of  the  Ja}^  treaty 
both  England  and  the  United  States  were  to  have  free  use  of  the  Mississippi 
but  neither  country  controlled  the  mouths  of  that  river.  The  Spanish  had 
a fortified  post  where  New  Orleans  now  stands.  They  controlled  all  the 
trade  which  came  down  the  Mississippi  to  the  Gulf,  and  so  to  Europe.  They 
laid  a heavy  tax  upon  all  merchandise  which  passed  New  Orleans.  The 
settlers  in  the  West  were  rendered  very  angry  by  this,  and  were  bitter 
against  Spain.  At  this  time  Spain  was  closely  allied  with  France.  When, 
therefore,  the  United  States  Avas  about  to  go  to  Avar  Avith  the  latter,  many 
saAv  the  opportunity  to  get  possession  of  NeAv  Orleans.  Kentuckians  Avere 
ready  to  send  men  to  take  it  by  force,  eA^en  before  Avar  Avas  declared. 
Alexander  Hamilton  was  eager  for  an  alliance  betAveen  the  United  States, 
England,  and  the  people  of  the  Spanish  provinces  in  America,  to  driA^e 
Spain  altogether  out  of  America. 

These  schemes  fell  through  for  tAvo  reasons.  The  policy  of  Napoleon 
removed  the  grounds  of  complaint  against  France  and  the  Federalists  Avere 
defeated  in  a political  contest  by  the  Democratic-Republicans.  Hamilton 
no  longer  had  influence  in  the  government.  Jefferson  became  President  and 
Aaron  Burr  Vice-President.  What  Avas  not  done  by  force  of  arms  Avas  noAv 
done  by  peaceable  purchase.  Spain  had  made  a secret  treat}^  Avith  France, 
by  Avhich  she  ceded  the  territory  of  Louisiana.  Jefferson,  knoAving  of  this, 


16 


THE  OPENING  CENTURY 


sent  a commission  to  France  to  buy  the  island  on  which  New  Orleans  stood, 
and  also  the  right  of  passage  to  the  sea.  He  did  this  at  the  urgent  demand 
of  Western  men,  who  saw  its  importance.  Napoleon  was  at  this  time 
expecting  a war  between  France  and  England.  He  knew  that  in  case 
of  war  an  English  fleet  would  be  sent  to  the  Gulf  to  take  possession  of 
Louisiana.  It  would  be  impossible  for  the  French  to  hold  the  post  of  New 
Orleans  ; but  he  was  determined  that  the  place  should  not  fall  into  the 
hands  of  his  great  enemy.  So  before  the  American  commissioners  had 
made  aii}^  offer  to  buy  New  Orleans  he  came  forward  with  a proposition  to 
sell  not  only  what  they  wanted  but  all  Louisiana.  The  commissioners  had 
been  instructed  to  offer  two  and  a half  millions  dollars  for  the  island. 
Napoleon  named  the  price  of  twenty  million  dollars  for  the  whole  country. 
He  would  not  give  the  commissioners  time  to  consult  with  the  American 
government.  England  might  declare  war  at  any  moment.  After  some 
bargaining  it  was  agreed  that  France  should  make  over  to  the  United  States 
all  the  territory  which  she  had  lately  received  from  Spain.  The  Lbiited 
States  v\^as  to  pay  France  fifteen  million  dollars.  Napoleon  was  delighted 
with  the  sale.  He  had  received  a large  sum  for  a country  which  shortly  he 
would  have  had  to  surrender  to  England : he  had  increased  the  friendliness 
of  France  and  the  United  States  ; he  had  aimed  a heavy  blow  at  England. 
“ This  accession  of  territory,”  he  said,  “ strengthens  forever  the  power  of 
the  United  States.  I have  given  England  a rival.”  The  United  States 
took  formal  possession  of  the  territory  December  20,  1803.  Very  few  people 
had  any  idea  of  the  worth  of  the  purchase  and  many  abused  Jefferson  for 
making  it.  The  settlers  at  the  West,  however,  were  overjo3'ed.  Jefferson’s 
popularity  was  increased  there  by  this  and  other  measures,  so  that  he  was  re- 
elected President  at  the  end  of  his  term.  He  sent  two  officers  of  the  army, 
IMeriwether  Lewis  and  William  Clarke,  with  a part}^  to  explore  the  vast 
country  of  Louisiana.  They  spent  nearl}^  three  years  in  the  journey. 
The}^  ascended  the  Missouri  and  crossed  the  Rock}^  Mountains.  The}^  dis- 
covered the  two  rivers  now  called  Lewis  River  and  Clark  River,  followed 
them  to  the  Columbia,  and  thus  reached  the  Pacific.  It  was  a wonderful 
journey  and  gave  the  American  people  their  first  knowledge  of  a great 
country  which  la}^  even  bev^ond  their  new  boundaries.  Meanwhile  the 
Northwest  Territory  was  filling  with  settlers.  People  from  Connecticut 
moved  out  to  the  land  which  originally  was  claimed  by  that  State.  People 
from  Virginia  and  others  occupied  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  In  1802  a new 
State  was  formed  from  the  territoiy  and  named  Ohio.  The  founders  of 
Ohio  encouraged  settlers  by  laying  no  taxes  for  four  years  upon  land  bought 


THE  OPENING  CENTURY 


17 


of  the  United  States.  The  United  States  in  return  gave  to  the  State  one 
section  in  each  township  for  the  support  of  common  schools.  Thus  it  was 
made  easy  for  men  to  settle  there,  and  they  were  encouraged  to  provide 
education  for  their  children. 

When  Jefferson  was  re-elected  President,  Aaron  Burr  was  not  re-elected 
Vice-President.  He  was  a restless,  scheming  man,  and  was  distrusted  by 
the  better  men  of  the  country.  While  Vice-President  he  had  killed  Hamil- 
ton in  a duel.  Dueling  was  not  then  felt  to  be  disgraceful  as  it  is  now,  and 
Burr  continued  to  hold  office;  but  when  his  term  ended  he  left  the  Atlantic 
States  to  seek  other  fortune  in  the  West.  Although  Louisiana  was  now 
United  States  soil,  the  whole  country  bordering  the  Mississippi  was  remote 
from  the  older  settlements,  and  offered  great  temptations  to  a bold,  adven- 
turous leader  like  Burr.  He  gathered  a company  of  daring  men,  and  after 
two  years  of  preparation  began  to  descend  the  Mississippi.  Exactly  what 
his  purpose  was  no  one  seemed  to  know.  Apparently  he  intended  to  seize 
the  Spanish  possessions  in  Mexico,  and  to  establish  himself  and  his  follow^- 
ers  in  power  there,  as  Cortez  had  done  before  him.  At  any  rate,  his  expedi- 
tion was  hostile  to  Spain,  and  the  United  States  was  at  peace  with  that 
country.  The  President  suffered  him  to  make  all  his  preparations,  but 
when  he  was  actually  on  the  march  Jefferson  issued  a proclamation  de- 
nouncing him.  One  who  was  in  Burr’s  confidence  is  said  to  have  betrayed 
him.  The  movement  was  stopped  at  Natchez,  and  Burr  was  arrested.  He 
was  tried  for  treason,  but  was  not  convicted,  owing  to  an  error  in  the  method 
of  trying  him. 

Meanwhile  the  insolence  of  the  North  African  pirates  had  become  un- 
bearable^ and  the  United  States  resolved  to  cease  paying  tribute  to  the  Bar- 
bary Powders.  Captain  Bainbridge  had  been  sent  in  1800  in  the  frigate 
“ George  Washington  ” to  pay  the  usual  tribute  to  the  Dey  of  Algiers,  and 
had  been  treated  with  cruel  insolence  by  that  ruler.  After  performing  the 
errand  courteously,  and  when  he  was  about  to  leave,  the  Dey  commanded 
Bainbridge  to  carry  an  Algerian  ambassador  to  the  court  of  the  Sultan  at 
Constantinople.  Bainbridge  refused  compliance,  and  the  governor  said : 
“ You  pay  me  tribute,  by  which  you  become  my  slave,  and  therefore  I have 
a right  to  order  you  as  I think  proper.”  Bainbridge  could  not  sail  out  of 
the  harbor  of  Algiers  without  permission  of  the  guns  of  the  castle,  and  was 
compelled  to  yield.  He  bore  the  ambassador  to  the  Golden  Horn.  Bain- 
bridge  was  granted  a firman  to  protect  him  from  further  insolence  from 
Barbary  rulers,  and  he  used  it  efficiently.  When  he  returned  to  Algiers  he 
was  ordered  by  the  Dey  to  go  on  another  errand  to  Constantinople,  and  he 


18 


THE  OPENING  CENTURY 


peremptorily  refused.  The  African,  enraged,  ordered  his  attendants  to  seize 
Bainbridge,  who  quietly  produced  the  firman,  and  the  Dey  offered  the  man 
whom  he  had  just  regarded  as  his  slave  his  friendship  and  service.  Bain- 
bridge, assuming  the  air  of  a dictator,  demanded  the  release  of  the  French 
consul  and  fifty  or  sixty  of  his  own  countrymen,  whom  the  Dey  had  im- 
prisoned, and  they  were  borne  away  in  the  Washington  ” in  triumph. 
Then  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Nav}^ : ‘‘  I hope  I shall  never  again 
be  sent  to  Algiers  with  tribute  unless  I am  authorized  to  deliver  it  from  the 
mouth  of  our  cannon.” 

In  the  spring  of  i8oi  President  Jefferson  had  ordered  Commodore  Dale 
to  go  with  a squadron  to  cruise  off  the  North  African  coasts.  Dale  reached 
Gibraltar  on  the  first  of  July,  aud  found  that  Tripoli  had  latel}^  declared 
war  against  the  United  States,  and  its  corsairs  were  out  upon  the  sea.  His 
presence  effectually  restrained  the  pirates  and  made  them  quite  circumspect. 
The  next  year  a larger  squadron,  commanded  by  Commodore  Morris,  was 
sent  to  the  same  waters.  The  harbor  of  Tripoli  was  blockaded  in  May,  and 
not  long  afterwards  the  ‘‘  Chesapeake  ” had  a fight  with  a flotilla  of  Tripol- 
itan gunboats.  Finally,  in  1803,  the  whole  squadron  appeared  off  the 
coasts  of  the  Barbary  Powers  and  effectually  protected  American  commerce 
from  the  corsairs  for  awhile.  But  Morris’s  cruise  was  not  regarded  as  an 
efficient  one.  In  August,  1803,  Commodore  Preble,  in  command  of  a 
squadron,  sailed  for  the  Mediterranean  in  the  frigate  “ Constitution.”  After 
settling  some  difficulties  with  the  Emperor  of  Morocco,  whose  corsairs  were 
on  the  sea,  he  appeared  with  his  vessels  before  the  harbor  of  Tripoli,  where 
a serious  disaster  occurred.  The  frigate  “ Philadelphia,”  commanded  by 
Captain  Bainbridge,  while  reconnoitering  the  harbor,  struck  a rock  and  was 
captured  by  the  Tripolitans.  Her  officers  were  made  prisoners-of-war  and 
her  crew  were  made  slaves.  When  the  news  reached  Preble  at  Malta,  a plan 
was  devised  for  the  destruction  of  the  “ Philadelphia  ” before  her  captors 
could  make  her  ready  for  sea.  “ Eieutenant  Decatur  with  sevenH^-four 
volunteers — gallant  3mung  men  like  himself — sailed  from  Syracuse  in  a 
small  vessel  called  a ‘ ketch,’  named  the  ‘ Intrepid.’  She  entered  the  harbor 
of  Tripoli  on  the  evening  of  the  third  of  February,  1804,  in  the  disguise  of 
a vessel  in  distress,  and  moored  alongside  the  ‘ Philadelphia.’  Decatur  and 
his  men  were  concealed  below,  when  suddenly  they  burst  from  the  hatches, 
leaped  on  board  the  ‘ Philadelphia,’  and  after  a desperate  fight,  killed  or 
drove  into  the  sea  her  occupants.  Then  they  set  her  on  fire  and  escaped  by 
the  light,  under  cover  of  a heavy  cannonade  from  the  American  squadron, 
and  followed  by  shots  from  the  castle,  vessels  at  anchor  in  the  harbor,  and 


THE  OPENING  CENTURY 


19 


batteries  on  shore.  Yet  not  one  of  Decatur’s  men  was  harmed.  Before  a 
favoring  breeze  they  sailed  to  Syracuse,  where  they  were  greeted  by  the 
American  squadron.” 

In  August  following,  Preble  opened  a bombardment  upon  the  town, 
castle,  shore-batteries,  and  flotilla  of  gunboats.  In  one  of  these  engage- 
ments Decatur  again  distinguished  himself.  Finally  Preble,  with  his  flag- 
ship, the  “ Constitution,”  entered  the  harbor,  when  her  great  guns  opened  a 
heavy  fire  upon  the  town,  the  castle,  the  batteries  on  shore  and  the  camps 
of  twenty-five  thousand  land  troops,  and  flotilla  in  the  harbor.  She 
silenced  the  Tripolitan  guns,  sunk  a Tunisian  vessel-of-war,  damaged  a 
Spanish  one,  severely  bruised  the  enemy’s  galleys  and  gunboats,  and  then 
withdrew  without  a man  hurt. 

Another  attack  was  made.  Says  Mr.  Dossing  : “ On  that  night — a very 
dark  one — the  ‘ Intrepid,’  which  had  been  converted  into  a floating  mine — 
an  immense  torpedo — with  one  hundred  barrels  of  gunpowder  below  her 
deck,  and  a large  quantity  of  shot,  shell,  and  irregular  pieces  of  iron 
lying  over  them,  went  into  the  harbor  under  the  general  direction  of 
Captain  Somers,  to  scatter  destruction  among  the  vessels  of  the  enemy. 
She  was  towed  in  b}^  two  boats,  with  brave  crews,  in  which  it  was  expected 
all  would  escape  after  firing  combustibles  on  board  of  her.  All  hearts  in  the 
American  squadron  followed  the  ‘ Intrepid  ’ as  she  disappeared  in  the 
gloom.  Suddenly  a lurid  flame,  like  that  from  a volcano,  shot  up  from  the 
bosom  of  the  harbor,  and  lighted  with  its  horrid  glare,  the  town,  castle,  bat- 
teries, ships,  camps,  and  surrounding  hills.  It  was  followed  by  an  explosion 
that  shook  the  earth  and  sea,  and  flaming  masts  and  sails  and  firing  bombs 
rained  upon  the  waters  for  a moment,  when  darkness  more  profound  settled 
upon  the  scene.  The  safet3^-boats  were  anxiously  watched  for  until  the 
dawn.  They  never  returned,  and  no  man  of  that  perilous  expedition  was 
heard  of  afterwards.  Their  names  are  inscribed  upon  a monument  erected 
to  the  memory  of  these  brave  men  and  the  event.”  It  stands  at  the  western 
front  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington  city. 

Hostilities  on  the  Barbary  coast  now  ceased  for  the  season.  Preble 
was  relieved  by  Commodore  Samuel  Barron,  and  early  in  1805  he  returned 
home,  and  received  the  homage  of  the  nation’s  gratitude.  While  Barron’s 
ships  blockaded  Tripoli,  an  important  land  movement  against  the  province 
was  undertaken,  under  the  general  management  of  William  Eaton, 
American  consul  at  Tunis.  The  reigning  Bashaw  of  Tripoli  was  a 
usurper,  who  had  murdered  his  father  and  taken  the  seat  of  power  from  his 
brother,  Hamet  Caramalli.  The  latter  had  fled  to  Egypt.  A plan  was 


20 


THE  OPENING  CENTURY 


concerted  between  him  and  General  Eaton  for  the  restoration  of  his  rights. 
The  latter  acted  under  the  sanction  of  his  government.  Eaton  went  to 
Egypt,  and  at  the  beginning  of  March  he  left  Alexandria,  accompanied  by 
Hamet  and  his  followers,  some  Egyptian  soldiers,  and  seventy  United 
States  seamen.  They  made  a march  of  a thousand  miles  across  the  borders 
of  the  Libyan  desert;  and  near  the  close  of  April,  in  conjunction  with  two 
American  vessels,  they  captured  the  Tripolitan  city  of  Derne,  on  the 
borders  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  They  had  defeated  the  Tripolitan 
forces  in  two  battles,  and  were  about  to  march  on  the  capital  when  news 
came  that  the  American  consul-general  (Tobias  Lear)  had  made  a treaty  of 
peace  with  the  terrified  Bashaw.  So  ended  the  hopes  of  Hamet,  and  also 
the  four  years’  war  with  Tripoli.  But  the  ruler  of  Tunis  was  yet  insolent. 
He  was  speedily  humbled  by  Commodore  Rodgers,  Barron’s  successor, 
and  the  power  of  the  United  States  was  respected  and  feared  by  the  half- 
barbarians of  the  north  of  Africa.  Pope  Pius  the  Seventh  declared  that  the 
Americans  had  done  more  for  Christendom  against  the  pirates  than  all  the 
powers  of  Europe  united. 


It  was  in  1806  that  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  probably  the  greatest  military  genius  that  ever  lived,  crushed  Prussia  to  the  dust  aud  won  the  two  terrific  battles  of  Auerstiidt  aud  Jena 
on  the  same  day,  October  14.  These  victories  were  followed  by  the  triumphant  entry  of  Napoleon  into  Berlin,  aud  the  “ Conqueror  of  Conquerors”  began  giving  away  kingdoms 
as  if  they  were  so  many  toys. 


GREAT  FRENCH  SOLDIERS. 


Napoleon  I,  the  greatest  of  all  military  geniuses,  was  born 
in  (Corsica  in  1769,  and  died  in  exile  on  the  island  of 
St.^Helena,  in  1821. 

Joachim  Murat,  Marshal  of  I'rance,was  horn  in  1771,  ami 
executed  in  1815. 

Marshal  MacMahon  was  born  in  1808.  He  commanded 
the  French  army  which  surrendered  at  Sedan,  with 
Emperor  Napoleon  in  1870. 


Marshal  Ney,  “the  bravest  of  the  brave,”  was  born  in 
1769,  and  executed  in  1815. 

Francois  Achille  Bazaine,  Marshal  of  France,  was  born 
in  1811,  and  was  condemned  to  be  shot  for  his  surren- 
der of  his  immense  army  at  Metz  in  1870. 

Marshal  Soult  was  born  in  1769,  and  died  in  1851. 
Marshal  Pelissier  was  born  in  1794,  and  died  in  1864. 


CHAPTER  II 


(FIRST  DECADE) 

NAPOEEON’S  FRANCE 

[RisumS. — Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  born  in  Corsica  in  the  Mediterranean,  in  1769.  He. first  won  fame 
by  subduing  the  insurrection  of  the  French  National  Guard.  Appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
Army  of  Italy  (1796),  at  the  head  of  40,000  he  defeated  the  Austrians  in  eighteen  pitched  battles. 
Then  ensued  his  brilliant  campaign  in  Egypt.  He  returned  to  find  the  young  French  Republic  in 
sore  straits.  Russia,  Austria,  and  England  were  leagued  against  her.  Italy  had  been  wrenched 
from  her  grasp.] 

At  the  age  of  thirty  Napoleon  was  made  First  Consul  of  France  under 
the  Constitution  of  1799.  He  confronted  a situation  sufficiently 
difficult  to  stagger  even  his  matchless  genius.  Austria  was  the 
immediate  and  most  threatening  foe  of  France,  for  England  was,  as  yet, 
but  little  more  than  the  financial  backer  of  her  Continental  allies,  and 
Napoleon  had  succeeded,  with  the  expenditure  of  a few  sweet  words,  in 
pacifying  the  Emperor  Paul — the  half-witted  Czar  of  Russia. 

Two  formidable  French  armies  took  the  field  in  the  spring  of  1800: 
the  one  under  Moreau,  on  the  Rhine ; the  other,  under  Napoleon,  bound 
for  Italy.  Taking  command  in  person,  the  First  Consul  silently  and 
swiftly  crossed  the  Alps,  and  swept  down  upon  the  Austrians  in  Lombardy 
like  an  avalanche.  The  opposing  forces  met  at  Marengo,  about  30,000 
troops  on  each  side.  Here  is  one  brief  condensed  account  of  that  famous 
battle : “ At  first  the  French  gave  way  before  the  attack  of  their  foes. 
After  many  hours  of  fighting,  victory  seemed  to  remain  with  the  Austrians, 
whose  commander,  an  old  man  of  eighty,  yielding  to  fatigue,  and  regarding 
his  work  as  done,  retired  from  the  field.  Napoleon  asked  General  Desaix 
what  he  thought  of  the  situation.  ‘ The  battle,’  said  that  officer,  ‘ is  com- 
pletely lost ; but  it  is  only  four  o’clock,  and  there  is  time  to  gain  another.’ 
The  retreating  French  were  rallied  for  a fresh  effort.  The  Austrians,  called 
to  fight  where  they  expected  only  to  pursue,  were  advancing  to  the  attack, 

21 


22 


NAPOLEON'S  FRANCE 


1 


when  the  French  cavalry,  concealed  from  view  by  the  thick  foliage,  burst 
suddenly  upon  their  flank.  This  charge  decided  the  battle,  and  the 
Austrians,  after  bravely  fighting  for  twelve  hours,  fled  in  utter  disorder 
from  the  field.”  Napoleon  regained  by  this  decisive  victory  all  that  had 
been  lost  in  Italy  during  his  absence  in  Egypt.  Austria  owned  her  defeat 
by  a convention  in  which  she  yielded  to  the  conqueror  all  her  fortresses  in 
Lombardy  and  Piedmont. 

Marengo  occurred  in  June,  1800.  In  December,  Moreau,  who  had 
crossed  the  Rhine,  met  the  Austrians  in  the  forest  of  Hohenlinden,  and 
dealt  them  a crushing  defeat.  Vienna  now  lay  open  to  attack,  and  Austria 
was  forced  to  humble  herself  and,  without  the  concurrence  of  England, 
accept  a humiliating  peace.  At  the  close  of  this  campaign  Great  Britain 
stood  alone.  All  Germany,  west  of  the  Rhine,  was  attached  to  France ; 
Italy,  Holland,  and  Spain  were  under  Napoleon’s  sway ; and  even  the 
northern  powers,  Russia,  Denmark,  and  Sweden,  were  in  league  against 
the  “ right  of  search  ” asserted  by  England — the  untenable  doctrine  which 
afterwards  led  to  our  own  war  of  1812.  A year  later  England  herself 
stopped  fighting,  and  all  Europe  for  a brief  period — the  first  in  nine  3^ears — 
was  at  peace.  But  previous  to  this  several  notable  events  occurred.  On 
the  same  day  (March  21,  1801)  that  Sir  Ralph  Abercromby  defeated  the 
French  forces  at  Alexandria,  the  treaty  of  Madrid  between  France  and 
Spain  was  signed.  A few  days  later  Lord  Nelson  fought  the  famous  battle 
of  Copenhagen — the  battle  of  all  the  hundred  he  fought  which  he  regarded 
as  the  most  terrible. 

It  resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  Danes  and  the  ruin  of  their  fleet.  Here 
is  one  graphic  account  of  the  battle  : When  the  fleet  sailed  from  Yarmouth 
the  Government  would  seem  to  have  thought  that  Denmark  could  be  easily 
detached  from  the  confederation  ; and  the  instructions  forwarded  to  Sir  Hyde 
Parker — instructions  which  must  have  been  framed  by  Lord  St.  Vincent — 
were  to  proceed  to  Reval  so  soon  as  the  fleet  could  be  withdrawn  from  Copen- 
hagen ; to  attack  the  Russian  squadron  there;  to  destroy  the  arsenal ; to  pass 
on  to  Cronstadt;  and,  in  general,  “ to  attack  and  endeavor  to  capture  or  destroy 
any  ships  of  war  or  others  belonging  to  Russia,  and  to  annoy  that  power  in 
every  manner  not  incompatible  with  the  fair  and  acknowledged  usages  of 
war.”  These  instructions  were  apparently  discussed  in  a council  of  war  on 
hlarch  23,  and  on  the  24th  Nelson  wrote  a long  letter  to  Sir  Hyde,  urging 
the  necessity  of  prompt  and  immediate  action  if  the  negotiations  at  Copen- 
hagen should  prove  unsuccessful,  as  by  the  intelligence  they  had  received 
from  the  ambassador,  seemed  now  most  probable.  This  letter  is  a full  and 


NAPOLEON'S  FRANCE 


23 


masterly  exposition  of  tlie  prospects  before  them,  and  shonld  be  studied  in 
detail  by  every  one  who  wishes  to  obtain  an  insight  into  Nelson’s  manner 
of  considering  not  merely  how  to  get  at  the  enemy  but,  in  his  own  words, 
“ how  to  get  at  them  with  the  least  risk  to  our  ships.”  It  is  impossible  to 
do  more  here  than  indicate  his  definite  proposals.  “You  are  now,”  he  wrote, 
“ about  Kronborg.  If  the  wind  is  fair  and  you  determine  to  attack  the  ships 
and  Crown  Islands  you  must  expect  the  natural  issue  of  such  a battle, — 
ships  crippled  and  perhaps  one  or  two  lost ; for  the  wind  which  carries  you 
in  will  most  probably  not  bring  out  a crippled  ship.  This  mode  I call 
taking  the  bull  by  the  horns.  It,  however,  will  not  prevent  the  Reval  ships, 
nor  Swedes,  from  joining  the  Danes  ; and  to  prevent  this  from  taking  effect 
is,  in  my  humble  opinion,  a measure  absolutely  necessary — and  still  to 
attack  Copenhagen.  Two  modes  are  in  view : one  to  pass  Kronborg,  taking 
the  risk  of  damage,  and  to  pass  up  the  deepest  and  straightest  channel  above 
the  Middle  Grounds  ; and  coming  down  the  Garbar  or  King’s  Channel,  to 
attack  their  floating  batteries,  etc.,  etc.,  as  we  find  it  convenient.  It  must 
have  the  effect  of  preventing  a junction  between  the  Russians,  Swedes,  and 
Danes,  and  may  give  us  an  opportunity  of  bombarding  Copenhagen.  . . . 
Should  this  mode  of  attack  be  ineligible,  the  passage  of  the  Belt,  I have  no 
doubt,  would  be  accomplished  in  four  or  five  days,  and  then  the  attack  by 
Dragor  could  be  carried  into  effect  and  the  junction  of  the  Russians  pre- 
vented, with  every  probability  of  success  against  the  Danish  floating  bat- 
teries. . . . Supposing  us  through  the  Belt  with  the  wind  westerl}^,  would  it 
not  be  possible  to  either  go  with  the  fleet,  or  detach  ten  ships  of  three  or 
two  decks,  with  one  bomb  or  two  fire-ships,  to  Reval  to  destroy  the  Russian 
squadron  at  that  place  ? I do  not  see  the  great  risk  of  such  a detachment, 
and  with  the  remainder  to  attempt  the  business  at  Copenhagen.  The  mea- 
sure may  be  thought  bold,  but  I am  of  opinion  the  boldest  measures  are  the 
safest.”  It  is  of  this  last  suggestion,  “ a suggestion  worthy  of  Napoleon 
himself,”  that  Captain  Mahan  has  well  said  : “ If  adopted,  it  would  have 
brought  down  the  Baltic  Confederacy  with  a crash  that  would  have  re- 
sounded throughout  Europe.”  It  was,  however,  the  first  proposal  which 
was  ultimately  adopted.  When,  on  the  30th,  the  fleet  passed  Kronborg, 
entered  the  sound,  and  anchored  a few  miles  to  the  north  of  Copenhagen,  it 
was  seen,  as  Nelson  had  pointed  out,  that  to  go  in  from  the  north,  exposing 
the  ships  to  the  fire  of  the  Crown  batteries,  would  be  extremely, dangerous 
and  could  scarrely  lead  to  a satisfactory  result. 

While  off  Elsinore  Nelson  had  shifted  his  flag  to  the  “ Elephant,” 
commanded  b}’  Captain  Foley,  who  had  so  brilliantly  led  into  action  at  the 


24 


NAPOLEON’S  FRANCE 


Nile,  and  he  now  at  once  volunteered  to  undertake  the  attack  in  the  way  he 
had  proposed,  from  the  southward,  if  the  Admiral  would  give  him  ten  ships 
of  the  line  and  all  the  smaller  vessels.  Sir  Hyde  readily  agreed  to  this, 
giving  him  twelve  ships  of  the  line,  and  leaving  all  the  details  to  his  judg- 
ment. In  the  “Amazon  ” frigate  he  had  already  examined  the  position, 
and  during  the  night  of  March  31st  had  the  channel  by  which  he  was  to 
pass  carefully  sounded.  On  the  forenoon  of  April  ist  the  whole  fleet 
moved  on  to  an  anchorage  within  six  miles  of  the  town,  off  the  northwest 
end  of  the  middle  ground,  a large  shoal  abreast  of  Copenhagen  dividing 
the  channel  at  that  part  into  two.  By  the  easternmost  of  these  the  squad- 
ron under  Nelson  passed  the  town  out  of  range  of  the  batteries  ; and  having 
anchored  for  the  night  to  the  southeast  of  the  Middle  Ground,  examined 
the  approach  to  the  town  by  the  inner  or  King’s  channel,  and  given  detailed 
orders  to  the  several  captains  both  in  writing  and  verbally,  at  half-past  nine 
on  April  2d  Nelson  made  the  signal  to  weigh  in  succession.  The  pilots, 
for  the  most  part  mates  of  small  merchant  vessels  engaged  in  the  Baltic 
trade,  were  unequal  to  the  task  of  conducting  these  large  ships  in  a channel 
from  which  the  accustomed  buoys  had  been  removed,  and  Mr.  Brierly,  the 
master  of  the  “ Bellona,”  piloted  the  squadron  in.  Captain  George  Alurray 
leading  in  the  “ Edgar.”  The  second  ship,  the  “Agamemnon,”  keeping  too 
much  to  the  east,  struck  on  the  Middle  Ground  and  remained  fast ; so  also 
did  the  “ Bellona  ” and  “ Russell ;”  the  other  nine  ships  passed  up  safely 
and  anchored  abreast  of  the  Danish  floating  batteries  (heavily-armed  hulks) 
ranged  along  the  shoal  waters  on  the  western  side  of  the  channel.  At  ten 
o’clock  the  action  began.  By  half-past  eleven  the  nine  English  ships  had 
taken  their  positions  and  the  battle  had  become  general.  The  two  lines 
were  about  two  hundred  yards  apart ; the  distance  betw^een  the  English  ships 
was  about  one  hundred.  The  “ Elephant  ” was  in  the  centre  of  the  line, 
opposite  to  the  Danish  commodore,  Fischer,  in  the  “ Dannebrog.”  At  one 
o’clock  the  battle  was  raging  fiercel3^  None  of  the  Danish  ships  had  been 
silenced ; many  of  the  English  had  suffered  severely,  and  the  “ Bellona  ” 
and  “ Russell  ” had  hoisted  signals  of  distress. 

Seeing  this,  but  unable  to  see  what  was  actually  taking  place,  Parker 
made  the  signal  to  discontinue  the  action.  “Leave  off  action!”  said  Nelson; 
“ damn  me,  if  I do.  You  know,  Foley,  I have  a right  to  be  blind  some- 
times and  putting  the  glass  to  his  blind  eye,  continued ; “ I really  do  not 
see  the  signal.”  The  story  told  on  the  unimpeachable  evidence  of  Colonel 
Stewart,  who  was  b}^  Nelson’s  side  at  the  time,  and  to  whom  part  of  the 
conversation  was  addressed,  has  often  been  repeated  as  though  marking  in 


NAPOLEON'S  FRANCE 


25 


a most  characteristic  way  the  man’s  reckless  and  determined  bravery.  It 
is,  however,  very  well  established  that  Parker  sent  his  flag-captain,  Otway, 
with  a verbal  message  that  the  signal  was  to  be  understood  as  permissive, 
and  was  made  in  that  way  so  that  the  whole  responsibility  might  rest  with 
Parker,  if  Nelson  judged  it  advisable  to  discontinue . the  action.  If  he 
thought  it  advisable  to  continue  it,  he  was  at  liberty  to  do  so.  He  judged 
it  right  to  continue;  and  the  little  pantomime  was  only  a joke,  which 
Foley  probably  understood  as  well  as  he  did.  Stewart  apparently  had  no 
knowledge  of  the  message  Otway  had  brought.  By  two  o’clock  Nelson’s 
resolution  to  continue  the  action  was  clearly  justifled.  Most  of  the  Danish 
ships  had  ceased  to  Are ; and  as  their  crews  were  constantly  reinforced  by 
men  from  the  shore,  the  carnage  on  board  was  very  great.  Some  of  them 
had  their  cables  cut  and  were  drifting  helplessly.  The  “Dannebrog” 
caught  fire  after  nearly  every  man  on  board  had  been  killed  or  wounded, 
and,  drifting  along  the  line,  finally  blew  up,  with  the  loss  of  all  that  had 
been  unable  to  jump  overboard.  At  half-past  two.  Nelson,  seeing  that  this 
butchery  (and  by  this  time  it  was  nothing  more)  must  go  on  as  long  as  the 
Danes  continued  sending  fresh  men  to  their  ships,  wrote  a letter  to  the 
Crown  Prince,  which  was  taken  on  shore  by  Captain  Sir  Frederick  Thesiger, 
serving  on  Nelson’s  staff  as  a volunteer,  who,  having  been  in  the  Swedish 
service,  spoke  the  language  sufiiciently  well.  This  celebrated  letter  ran ; 
“Lord  Nelson  has  directions  to  spare  Denmark  when  no  longer  resisting; 
but  if  the  firing  is  continued  on  the  part  of  Denmark,  Lord  Nelson  will  be 
obliged  to  set  on  fire  all  the  floating  batteries  he  has  taken,  without  having 
the  power  of  saving  the  brave  Danes  who  have  defended  them.  Nelson 
and  Bronte,  Vice-Admiral,  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Sir  Hyde 
Parker.  Dated  on  board  his  Britannic  Majesty’s  ship  ‘Elephant,’  Copen- 
hagen Roads,  April  2,  1801.”  The  letter  brought  on  a truce,  and  the  truce 
led  to  an  armistice. 

Thus  one  limb  was  struck  from  the  Northern  Confederacy.  A few 
’da^^s  before  the  Czar  Paul  of  Russia,  who  had  given  more  decided  evidence 
of  insanity,  was  strangled  by  some  of  his  nobles,  who  were  of  the  opinion 
that  the  empire  required  a change  of  policy.  His  son  Alexander  hastened 
to  make  peace  with  England,  and  thus  England’s  greatest  peril  passed  away. 

Now  a brief  respite  was  enjoyed  by  the  European  powers.  It  was  not 
the  expectation — perhaps  it  was  not  even  the  desire — of  the  government 
that  a lasting  peace  could  yet  be  attained,  but  it  suited  the  interests  of  all  that 
at  this  stage  of  the  war  a breathing-time  should  be  afforded.  It  was  true 
that  England,  by  whom  the  first  overtures  were  made,  had  not  3^et  gained 


26 


NAPOLEON'S  FRANCE 


any  of  the  ends  which  she  had  proposed  to  herself  by  the  war.  But  the 
government  admitted  that  it  seemed  hopeless  to  reduce  the  power  of  France^ 
and  asserted  the  desirable  policy  of  at  least  attempting  to  live  in  peace  with 
their  neighbor.  The  negotiations  were  attended  with  considerable  difficulty. 
But  the  wish  to  have  some  interval  of  peace  was  strong  both  in  England 
and  France,  and  at  last  an  agreement  was  reached.  The  other  European 
powers  effected  quickly  an  adjustment  of  differences.  For  the  first  and  last 
time  in  his  public  life,  Napoleon  found  himself  without  any  war  upon  his 
hands.  Egypt  was  evacuated.  The  Peace  of  Amiens,  destined  to  give 
Europe  but  a few  months  of  uncertain  rest,  was  hailed  with  delight  in  all 
lands. 

Napoleon,  although  nominally  Frst  Consul,  was  in  the  full  exercise 
of  absolute  power,  and  already  surrounded  himself  with  the  observances  of 
royalty.  As  a soldier  he  had  no  rival.  He  was  still  a young  man  ; he  could 
boast  the  double  conquest  of  Italy,  the  conquest  of  Egypt,  the  defeat  of  Aus- 
tria. Already  the  Corsican  lawyer’s  son  held  the  destinies  of  Europe  in  his 
hands.  The  glory  which  he  had  gained  for  them  made  him  supreme  in  the 
hearts  of  Frenchmen.  But  his  greatness  was  not  merely  that  of  the  suc- 
cessful soldier ; he  governed  with  clemency  and  wisdom,  and  returning 
prosperity  obtained  for  him  the  submission  of  a people  wearied  by  the 
cruelty  and  weakness  of  revolutionary  governments.  During  the  months 
of  peace  which  succeeded  the  treaty  of  Amiens,  he  gave  thought  to  the 
reconstruction  of  institutions  which  the  revolution  had  overthrown.  He 
-did  not  allow  religious  considerations  to  exercise  influence  over  his  life ; but 
he  regarded  religion  as  an  instrument  of  government,  which  he  would  have 
been  constrained  to  invent  had  he  not  found  it  already  in  existence.  “ The 
Roman  Catholic  religion  was  now  restored,  to  the  joy  of  the  devout  peas- 
antry, but  grievously  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  Parisians  and  the  soldiery. 
The  Sabbath  became  again  the  weekly  day  of  rest.  Education  was  pro- 
-moted,  although,  as  yet,  only  in  its  higher  forms  ; for  Napoleon  was  not 
-sufficiently  enlightened  to  desire  that  the  masses  of  the  French  people 
should  receive  education.  Improved  methods  of  levying  taxation  were  insti- 
tuted, in  place  of  the  system  established  during  the  revolution,  which  was  in 
the  highest  degree  unequal  and  oppressive.  To  occupy  the  attention  of  the 
Parisians,  and  to  prevent  a too  searching  discussion  of  the  policy  of  Napoleon, 
now  First  Consul,  extensive  improvements  of  the  capital  were  originated.  In 
the  provinces  canals  and  roads  were  formed.  The  families  banished  by  the 
revolution  were  nermitted  to  return,  and  such  of  their  possessions  as  had 
not  been  sold  to  meet  the  necessities  of  the  state  were  restored.  Through- 


NAPOLEON'S  FRANCE 


27 


out  France  the  laws  differed  excessivel}^  In  one  day’s  journey  the  traveler 
encountered  several  varieties  of  law.  Napoleon  formed  the  grand  design 
of  framing  a uniform  system  of  law  for  France.  His  conception  was  in 
due  course  of  years  given  effect,  he  himself  taking  no  inconsiderable  share 
in  the  labor  involved.” 

William  Pitt,  who  had  labored  to  form  a league  of  Kuropean  powers  to 
curb  the  ambition  of  Napoleon,  now  saw  the  edifice,  which  he  had  almost 
completed,  in  ruins.  He  resigned  the  ministry.  Lord  Rosebeiy  says  in 
his  biography  of  the  statesman  that  he  “ had  no  generals.  He  dis- 
covered the  genius  of  Wellington,  but  did  not  live  to  profit  by  it.”  His 
genius  and  ambition  had  displayed  themselves  with  an  almost  unexampled 
precocity.  “ The  fineness  of  William’s  mind,”  his  mother  writes  of  him, 
when  he  was  but  twelve  years  old,  “ makes  him  enjoy  with  pleasure  what 
would  be  above  the  reach  of  any  other  creature  of  his  small  age.”  The 
excessive  delicacy  of  his  constitution  prevented  his  education  at  a public 
school,  but  he  studied  at  home  with  success,  and  in  1773  he  was  sent  to  the 
University  of  Cambridge,  where  his  knowledge  of  the  classics  seems  to  have 
astonished  veteran  critics.  To  modern  literature  he  appears  to  have  been 
indifferent — he  knew  no  continental  language  except  French,  and  that  very 
imperfectly.  In  1780  he  was  called  to  the  bar.  At  twenty-five  years  of  age 
he  was  the  most  powerful  subject  that  England  had  seen  for  many  genera- 
tions. He  ruled  absolutely  over  the  cabinet,  and  was  the  favorite  at  once  of 
the  sovereign,  of  the  Parliament,  and  of  the  nation  ; and  from  this  date  his 
life  became  the  history  of  England.  For  seventeen  eventful  years  he  held 
his  great  position  without  a break.  It  is  certain — though  authorities  differ 
as  to  the  cause — that’s  Pitt’s  military  administration  was  eminently  unsnc- 
cessful.  But  no  disaster  could  daunt  his  spirit.  When  a new  French 
victory,  a rebellion  in  Ireland,  a mutiny  in  the  fleet,  and  a panic  in  the  city 
had  spread  dismay  through  the  nation,  Pitt,  from  his  place  in  Parliament, 
poured  forth  the  language  of  inextinguishable  hope  and  inflexible  reso- 
lution. Disaster  abroad  was  regularly  followed  by  triumph  at  home,  until 
at  last  he  had  no  longer  an  opposition  to  enconnter.  His  death  w^as  doubt- 
less hastened  by  the  stupendons  success  of  Napoleon.  The  peculiar  look 
which  he  wore  during  the  last  days  of  his  life  was  pathetically  termed  by 
Wilberforce  “ the  Austerlitz  look.”  The  impeachment  also  of  his  friend. 
Lord  Melville,  is  supposed  to  have  hastened  his  end.  It  gave  him,  he  said 
in  Parliament,  a deep  pang.  His  voice  quivered  as  he  uttered  the  word ; 
and  it  seemed  as  if  the  man  of  iron  were  about  to  shed  tears.  “ He  was,” 
says  Macaulay,  “ a minister  of  great  talents,  honest  intentions  and  liberal 


28 


NAPOLEON  FRANCE 


opinions,  . . . but  unequal  to  surprising  and  terrible  emergencies,  and 
liable  is  such  emergencies  to  err  grievously,  both  on  the  side  of  weakness 
and  on  the  side  of  violence.  But  what  man  ever  lived  we  may  ask,  who, 
placed  in  such  circumstances  as  Pitt,  would  not  often  have  greatly  erred  ? 
His  policy  was  liberal  beyond  his  age,  at  least  he  wished  it  to  be  so,  though 
he  was  often  obliged  to  yield  to  the  prejudices  of  his  sovereign.  He 
resigned  office  because  he  could  not  carry  Roman  Catholic  emancipation. 
He  laid  before  the  king  unanswerable  reasons  for  abolishing  the  List  Act. 
He  was  more  deeply  imbued  with  doctrines  of  free-trade  than  either  Fox  or 
Grey.”  It  cannot  indeed  be  denied  that  he  was  addicted  to  port  wine,  and 
he  died  overwhelmed  with  debts.  Parliament  voting  $200,000  to  his  creditors. 
High  as  his  character  stands,  it  would  have  stood  higher  had  he  united  the 
virtue  of  frugality  to  that  of  disinterestedness. 


CHAPTER  III 


(FIRST  DECADE) 

napoleon’s  FRANCE — (CONTINUED) 

{^ResuniL — The  preceding  chapter  traced  the  career  of  Napoleon  from  Marengo  to  the  declaration  of 
war  by  England  in  May,  1803.  The  conspicuous  events  were  the  battles  of  Alexandria  and  Copen- 
hagen, and  the  Peace  of  Amiens.] 

At  the  age  of  thirty-three,  Napoleon,  the  conqueror  of  Italy,  Egypt, 
and  Austria,  was  the  foremost  man  in  all  the  world.  He  was  always 
that,  however,  so  long  as  he  lived.  “ Eclipse  first,  and  the  rest 
nowhere.”  Later  on,  in  the  proper  place,  we  shall  attempt  an  estimate  of 
his  character  and  achievements.  Meanwhile,  in  mixed  metaphor,  we  are 
to  look  upon  his  dwarfish  figure  and  try  to  compass  the  truly  colossal  pro- 
portions of  the  Man  of  Destiny.  He  not  only  dominated  Europe  by  force 
of  arms,  this  young  man  of  thirty-three,  but  in  the  short  interval  of  peace, 
^ve  are  now  considering,  he  gave  ample  proof  of  his  genius  in  civil  as  well 
as  military  governorship.  He  centralized  the  administration  of  French 
affairs ; he  codified  the  laws  ; he  reconciled  France  with  the  Pope.  As  we 
have  already  said,  Napoleon  did  not  allow  religious  considerations  to  exercise 
any  considerable  influence  over  his  own  life,  but  he  regarded  religion  as  an 
indispensable  instrument  of  government,  which  he  would  have  been  con- 
strained to  invent  had  he  not  found  it  already  in  existence.  However  true 
this  may  be  it  is  certain  that  in  order  to  effect  a reunion  of  the  divorced 
French  Church  with  Rome  he  made  terms  of  agreement  with  the  Pope  by 
which  all  priests  in  France  were  appointed  by  the  bishops  and  approved  by 
the  state.  Thus  he  was  assured  of  the  powerful  support  of  the  priesthood. 

It  was  but  a short-lived  peace  between  France  and  England.  The  latter 
resented  the  steady  accession  of  French  influence  on  the  continent,  and 
Napoleon  as  bitterly  resented  the  scurrilous  attacks  made  against  him  by 
English  journalists,  as  well  as  the  studious  delay  of  England  in  evacuating 

29 


30 


NAPOLEON'S  FRANCE 


Egypt  and  Malta.  After  less  than  two  years  of  fretful  peace,  diplomatic 
relations  were  broken  in  May,  1803,  the  two  nations  began  anew  a 
struggle  of  arms  that  was  to  last  uninterruptedly  for  a dozen  years.  Writ- 
ing of  this  period  Mr.  Robert  MacKenzie  points  out  the  vast  changes  that 
had  occurred  in  England  and  France  as  the  result  of  nine  years  of  incessant 
war.  “The  English  fleet  had  been  doubled  in  strength  and  now  consisted 
of  eight  hundred  vessels,  carrying  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  fight- 
ing men  ; a naval  force  such  as  the  world  had  never  seen.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  navy  of  France,  blighted  by  the  overwhelming  strength  of  Eng- 
land, had  dwindled  by  one-half,  and  was  destined  to  yet  greater  decay.” 
Great  Britain’s  fighting  strength  on  land  had  grown  from  eighty  thousand 
men  to  nearly  half  a million,  while  the  French  forces  had  increased  from 
two  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  to  about  a million  armed  men.  England 
was  spending  annually  about  $300,000,000;  France,  about  $110,000,000. 
France,  having  repudiated  her  old  debts,  had  as  yet  been  able  to  contract  no 
larger  an  obligation  than  $275,000,000;  the  debt  of  England  had  attained 
the  enormous  sum  of  $2,424,000,000.  Yet  her  trade  had  vastly  increased, 
almost  doubled,  indeed,  while  the  foreign  trade  of  France  was  practically 
extinct.  The  invincible  ships  of  England  had  chased  her  flag  from  the  sea. 

The  reconciliation  had  been  too  superficial  to  be  enduring.  Difficulties 
arose,  as  we  have  said,  out  of  the  continued  aggressions  of  France  on  the 
Continent.  The  English  newspapers  spoke  evil  of  Napoleon  and  he  vainly 
demanded  the  suppression  of  the  offending  journals.  He  gathered  forces 
on  the  shores  of  the  Channel  as  if  he  meditated  early  invasion.  England, 
on  her  part,  delayed  to  evacuate  Egypt  and  Malta,  of  which  Napoleon 
vehemently  complained.  In  the  temper  of  both  countries  these  troubles 
could  have  but  one  ending.  England  broke  off  diplomatic  relations,  and 
the  European  people  turned  again,  without  reluctance,  to  the  familiar  work 
of  mutual  destruction,  from  which  they  were  not  to  rest  again  till  twelve 
years  had  passed.  A coalition  of  all  governments  hostile  to  France  was  at 
once  formed.  England  and  Russia  were  already  in  accord.  Sweden  was 
controlled  by  Russia.  Austria  was  slow  to  avow  hostility  ; but  her  wounds  ’ 
were  so  deep  and  so  recent  that  she  could  safely  be  reckoned  upon.  On  the 
other  hand,  Spain  leagued  with  Napoleon.  Holland,  Italy,  Switzerland, 
and  many  of  the  small  German  states,  were  under  his  control.  Prussia 
followed  a timid  and  ungenerous  course.  Tempted  by  the  possession  of 
Hanover,  she  cultivated  the  friendship  of  Napoleon,  and  awoke  from  her 
dream  of  aggrandizement  only  to  sink  in  ruin  under  the  blows  of  the  con- 
queror whom  she  had  humbled  herself  to  serve.  Napoleon’s  first  enterprise 


NAPOLEON'S  FRANCE  • 


31 


was  to  invade  England.  He  had  persuaded  himself  that  this  undertaking 
was  practicable,  and  he  made  his  preparations  on  a scale  which  almost 
rendered  it  so.  He  assembled  on  the  shores  of  the  channel  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  men  in  the  highest  state  of  discipline  and  equipment, 
with  two  thousand  vessels  for  their  transport.  But  England,  with  a power- 
ful fleet,  held  command  of  the  channel  and  rendered  hopeless  the  attempt 
to  convey  an  army  across.  Napoleon,  with  the  help  of  his  Spanish  allies, 
brought  together  sixty  ships  of  the  line,  but  even  with  that  immense  force 
he  shunned  a sea  fight.  He  schemed  rather  to  decoy  the  English  ships 
into  distant  seas,  so  that  the  passage  of  his  troops  might  be  unobstructed. 
His  own  fleets  were  ordered  to  the  West  Indies  with  secret  instructions  to 
return  immediately  to  Europe.  Nelson  fell  into  the  snare  and  gave  chase 
across  the  Atlantic.  When  he  discovered  the  stratagem  he  sent  his  swiftest 
ship  to  England  to  intimate  the  danger  which  impended.  His  warning  was 
received  in  time  and  a strong  squadron  under  Sir  Robert  Calder  was  ready 
to  meet  the  returning  allies.  A battle  ensued,  not  memorable  otherwise 
than  by  its  results,  which  were  in  the  highest  degree  momentous.  The 
allies  sustained  a defeat  and  instead  of  pressing  on  to  the  channel  they  took 
shelter  in  Ferrol.  Had  they  dared  all  and  sailed  onward  a French  army 
would  probably  have  landed  in  England.  Their  retreat  made  the  invasion 
impossible. 

Nelson  shortly  afterwards  met  the  combined  fleets  off  Cape  Trafalgar, 
and  inflicted  upon  them  a defeat  which  was  well-nigh  annihilating.  This 
great  triumph  placed  beyond  challenge  the  naval  supremacy  of  Britain  for 
it  did  not  leave  afloat  any  power  fit  to  encounter  her  in  battle.  Napoleon 
knew  so  soon  as  he  heard  of  the  retreat  of  his  fleet  that  all  his  combinations 
were  baffled  and  that  England  was  now  beyond  his  reach.  On  the  instant 
he  designed  the  campaign  of  Austerlitz.  With  a promptitude  unexampled  in 
the  movements  of  such  large  bodies  of  men  his  army  moved  from  the  shores 
of  the  channel  to  confront  his  enemies  on  the  Rhine.  Austria  had  now 
committed  herself  to  another  war  with  France.  Near  the  valley  of  the 
Danube,  around  the  fortress  of  Ulm,  with  no  enemy  near  them  lay  eight}^ 
thousand  Austrian  soldiers  meditating  action  against  French  territor3^  In 
absolute  secrecy,  and  with  amazing  swiftness,  Napoleon  provided  for  the 
converging  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  Frenchmen  around  the 
supine  and  unsuspecting  Austrians.  In  six  weeks  from  the  abandonment 
of  his  project  of  invasion  the  Austrians  were  surrounded,  and  ever}^  avenue 
by  which  they  might  regain  a position  of  safety  was  securely  barred  by  an 
overwhelming  force  directed  by  the  matchless  skill  of  Napoleon  himself. 


32 


NAPOLEON’S  FRANCE 


The  Austrian  general,  Mack,  appalled  by  the  sudden  calamity  which  had 
fallen  upon  him,  hastened  to  surrender.  “ The  road  to  Vienna  was  once 
more  open,  and  Napoleon  lost  no  time  in  entering  the  capital  of  his  foe. 
He  supplied  the  wants  of  his  army  from  the  stores  accumulated  there.  A 
Russian  army,  strengthened  by  the  remnants  of  the  ruined  Austrian  force,  was 
marching  against  him  ; and  Prussia,  offended  by  an  indignity  which  he  had 
offered,  was  arming  suspicioush^,  although  as  yet  she  withheld  any  declara- 
tion of  her  purposes.” 

Napoleon  took  up  his  position  at  Austerlitz,  and  artfully  contrived  to 
impress  his  enemies  with  the  belief  that  he  knew  the  dangers  of  his 
position,  and  was  seeking  a way  to  withdraw.  Under  this  fatal  delusion 
the  Emperor  Alexander  directed  his  troops  to  march  across  the  front  of  the 
French  army  in  order  to  turn  its  right  flank.  Napoleon,  at  the  head  of  an 
army  almost  equal  in  number  and  greatly  more  experienced,  looked  calmly 
on  while  the  Russians  involved  themselves  in  this  fearful  peril,  and  foretold 
the  ruin  which  he  saw  was  now  inevitable.  Restraining  the  impatience  of 
his  troops,  he  waited  till  the  cross-march  had  made  irretraceable  progress. 
And  then  the  masses  of  his  eager  veterans,  issuing  from  the  mist  which 
veiled  the  field,  were  launched  against  the  disordered  Russians.  Although 
taken  unawares  the  allies  fought  stubbornly ; but  iu  the  end  their  overthrow 
was  complete,  and  they  were  driven  from  the  field,  wectkened  by  a loss  of 
thirty  thousand  men  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners.  The  dispirited 
emperors,  deeming  further  resistance  hopeless,  hastened  to  negotiate  for  an 
armistice. 

For  the  space  of  four  months,  that  is  to  say  from  the  commencement 
of  February,  1804,  and  on  the  first  outbreak  of  the  Cadoudal  conspiracy, 
many  addresses  had  openly  demanded  the  re-establishment  of  the  throne 
and  the  foundation  of  a new  dynasty.  On  March  27,  the  entire  Senate  in 
acknowledging  reports  of  a criminal  correspondence  with  the  English 
agents  of  the  Lower  Rhine,  replied  to  Napoleon  : “ It  was  you  who  drew 
us  out  of  the  chaos  of  tlie  past ; you  cause  us  to  bless  the  benefits  of  the 
present;  protect  us  against  the  future.  Great  man,  finish  your  work,  make 
it  as  immortal  as  your  own  glory.”  The  reply  of  the  First  Consul  to  this 
official  advance  was  measured:  “ He  would  consider  it,”  he  said.  Conse- 
quently the  State  Council  was  consulted  on  the  establishment  of  a hereditary 
government.  On  May  18,  the  Second  Consul  brought  forward  the  project 
of  Senatus-Consultus,  which  created  the  Empire  and  the  almost  absolute 
power  of  Napoleon  ; this  project  was  at  once  adopted,  and  by  unanimous 
consent,  minus  two  votes  that  were  null  and  void,  and  three  against  it. 


NAPOLEON'S  FRANCE 


33 


This  was  a unique  epoch  in  French  history.  “ We  were,”  says  the  Count 
de  Segur,  “ living,  as  it  were,  in  a rarified  atmospliere  of  miracles  ; on  the 
i8th  of  May,  especially,  a day  of  intoxicating  splendor  and  trininph.  The 
Senate  had  hardly  passed  its  vote  for  the  Empire,  before  all  the  members 
tumultuously  following  on  the  steps  of  the  Second  Consul,  came  in  a bod}^ 
to  St.  Cloud  ill  a burst  of  enthusiasm.  Napoleon  being  proclaimed  Emperor, 
then  sent  them  back  to  closet  himself  with  Cambaceres,  settling  then  and 
there  the  transformation  of  the  Italian  Republic  into  a kingdom ; the 
inauguration  of  the  Order  of  Honor ; negotiations  with  the  Pope  to  come 
over  and  consecrate  him  himself ; and  pending  his  arrival  the  invasion  of 
England.  France,  being  consulted,  declared  that  she  desired  the  Empire, 
and  Napoleon  for  Emperor,  in  one  loud  response  of  3,524,254  voices! 
Truguet  was  the  sole  admiral  of  the  fleet  who  refused  to  accept  it ; if  there 
were  any  dissentients  in  the  army  they  kept  silence : when  the  accession 
of  the  First  Consul  to  the  Empire  was  proclaimed  in  its  ranks,  it  was 
received  with  unanimous  acclamation.  One  colonel  of  infantry  alone,  a 
man  of  splendid  stature  and  well-known  merit  turned  round  and  in  bold 
accents  exclaimed : ‘ Silence  in  the  ranks!’  This  was  Mouton,  afterwards 
a marshal  and  Count  de  Lobau.  Napoleon’s  reply  to  this  republican 
manifestation  did  not  tarry.  It  was  worthy  of  each  of  these  brave  spirits ; 
for  shortly  after,  the  colonel  received  with  his  general’s  brevet  that  of 
aide-de-camp  to  the  Emperor.” 

It  is  known  that  the  principal  motive  alleged  for  the  creation  of  the 
Empire  was  to  discourage  attacks  on  the  life  and  temporary  power  of  Napo- 
leon by  making  this  power  hereditary  in  his  family.  So  that  to  restore  the 
Republic  or  the  old  Monarchy  there  would  not  be  one  man  alone  to  strike 
down  but  an  entire  dynasty.  Thus,  as  always  happens  with  abortive  plots,  like 
that  of  the  3d  Nivose,  which,  having  doubled  the  power  of  Napoleon,  had 
the  effect  of  soon  after  causing  him  to  be  made  Consul  for  life,  the  one  by 
Georges  Cadoudal  made  him  Emperor,  even  before  sentence  on  the  con- 
spirators had  been  pronounced,  and  in  spite  of  the  murder  of  the  Due  de 
Enghien. 

In  naval  history  no  name  is  more  distinguished  than  that  of  the  hero 
of  Trafalgar.  A technical  stor}^  of  the  battle  would  interest  but  few  of  our 
readers  ; a plain  recital  of  the  facts  to  those  of  our  American  readers  who 
have  pride  in  what  Dewe}^  did  in  the  Bay  of  Manila  ma}'^  give  a certain 
degree  of  importance  to  our  account  of  Trafalgar — Nelson’s  greatest  battle 
and  his  tomb.  Having  seen  all  things  arranged  as  was  best  suited  to  the 
circumstances.  Nelson  went  down  to  his  cabin  and  entered  in  his  diary  a 
3 


34 


NAPOLEON'S  FRANCE 


brief  note  of  tbe  occurrences  of  the  morning.  Then,  on  bis  knees,  be  added  : 
‘‘  May  tbe  great  God  wboni  I worship  grant  to  my  country  and  for  tbe 
benefit  of  Europe  in  general  a great  and  glorious  victory  ; and  no  mis- 
conduct in  an}^  one  tarnisb  it ; and  may  bumanity  after  victory  be  tbe 
predominant  feature  of  tbe  British  fleet.  For  myself,  individually,  I com- 
mit my  life  to  Him  who  made  me,  and  may  His  blessing  light  upon  my 
endeavors  for  serving  my  country  faithfully.  To  Him  I resign  myself  and 
tbe  just  cause  which  is  intrusted  to  me  to  defend.”  He  afterwards  wrote 
or  at  any  rate  signed,  in  tbe  presence  of  Blackwood  and  Hardy,  that 
remarkable  document  which  has  been  called  tbe  codicil  to  bis  will,  in  which 
he  briefly  stated  tbe  services  which,  as  he  had  been  led  to  believe.  Lady 
Hamilton  had  rendered  to  the  country.  She  had  obtained,  he  said,  in  1796, 
the  King  of  Spain's  letter  to  the  King  of  Naples  acquainting  him  of  his 
intentions  to  declare  war  against  England,  and  had  thus  been  able  to  give 
timely  warning  to  the  English  Ministry  ; and  in  1798  she  had,  by  her  “ in- 
fluence with  the  Queen  of  Naples,  caused  letters  to  be  written  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Sjwacuse,  that  he  was  to  encourage  the  fleet  being  supplied  with 
everything  should  they  put  into  any  port  in  Sicily.”  As  it  had  not  been  in 
his  power  to  reward  these  services,  “ I leave,”  he  wrote,  “ Emma,  Lady 
Hamilton,  a legacy  to  my  king  and  countr}^  that  they  will  give  her  an 
ample  provision  to  maintain  her  rank  in  life.  I also  leave  to  the  beneficence 
of  my  country  my  adopted  daughter,  Horatio  Nelson  Thompson ; and  I 
desire  she  will  use  in  future  the  name  of  Nelson  only.  These  are  the  only 
favors  I ask  of  my  king  and  country  at  this  moment  when  I am  going  to 
fight  their  battles.” 

The  approach  towards  the  enemy’s  line  was  necessarily  slow  ; at  first  it 
was  not  more  than  three  knots  an  hour,  and  as  the  breeze  got  lighter  even 
this  rate  was  lessened.  About  eleven  o’clock,  the  fleets  being  then  little 
more  than  two  miles  apart.  Nelson,  rightly  interpreting  the  manoeuvre 
which  the  combined  fleet  had  so  clumsily  telegraphed  to  Collingwood,  “ I 
intend  to  push  through  the  enemy’s  line  to  prevent  them  from  getting  into 
Cadiz  and  half  an  hour  later  he  made  the  celebrated  signal,  ‘‘  England 
expects  that  every  man  will  do  his  duty.”  It  is  said  that  as  he  saw  the  flags 
going  up,  Collingwood  remarked  half-peevishly  to  his  flag  lieutenant,  “ I 
wish  Nelson  would  make  no  more  signals  ; we  all  understand  what  we  have 
to  do.”  When,  however,  the  signal  was  reported,  he  was  delighted,  and 
ordered  it  to  be  announced  to  the  ship’s  company,  by  whom  it  was  received 
with  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  On  board  most  of  the  ships  of  the  fleet  it 
was  similarly  announced  and  similarly  received  ; but  in  some  the  captains 


NAPOLEON  FRANCE 


35 


thought  it  unnecessary,  and  nothing  was  said  about  it.  The  modification 
of  the  plan  of  attack,  which  the  circumstances  of  the  weather  had  rendered 
necessary,  was  not  allowed  to  effect  the  essential  part  of  it.  Collingwood, 
at  the  head  of  the  lee  line,  was  still  to  lead  through  the  enemy’s  rear ; 
Nelson,  on  the  “ Victory,”  at  the  head  of  the  water  line,  was  still  to  take  care 
that  Collingwood  was  not  interrupted.  It  was  thus  not  by  accident,  nor  by 
better  sailing,  nor  by  more  careful  trimming  of  sails,  to  all  of  which  it  has 
been  assigned,  but  in  accordance  with  the  prearranged  plan,  that  the 
Royal  Sovereign  ” was  considerably  ahead  of  the  “ Victory  ” as,  closely 
followed  by  the  “ Belleisle,”  ‘‘  Mars,”  “ Tonnant,”  and  the  rest,  she  steered 
straight  for  the  rear  division  of  the  combined  fleet.  It  was  about  noon  when 
she  entered  between  the  horns  of  the  crescent,  bringing  the  enemy’s  van 
and  rear  equally  abaft  the  beam.  Immediately  in  front  of  her  was  the 
“ Santa  Ana,”  with  the  flag  of  Vice-Admiral  Alava,  close  astern  of  which 
was  the  “ Fougueux.”  The  “San  Leandro,”  “San  Justo,”  and  “ In- 
domptable  ” ought  to  have  been  ahead  of  the  “Santa  Ana,”  but  they  had 
fallen  considerably  to  leeward,  and  their  guns  were  thus  to  a certain  extent 
masked  by  the  “ Santa  Ana  ” herself,  when  the  Spanish  Vice-Admiral 
opened  his  fire  on  the  “ Royal  Sovereign.”  His  doing  so  Avas  the  signal  for 
the  ships  of  both  fleets  to  hoist  their  colors,  the  English  all  flying  the  A^Fite 
ensign  to  avoid  the  confusion  Avhich  Nelson  thought  might  arise  from  the 
use  of  different  flags  ; for  while  he  himself  Avas  Vice-Admiral  and  Lord 
Northesk  Rear-Admiral  of  the  White,  CollingAvood  Avas  Vice-Admiral  of 
the  Blue.  In  addition  to  the  ensign,  each  ship  flew  two  or  more  union  jacks 
in  different  parts  of  the  rigging.  The  Admirals  wore  their  proper  flags  ; and 
at  the  “ Victory’s”  maintopgallant  masthead  Avas  the  signal,  “ Engage  the 
enemy  more  closely.” 

The  advance  of  the  English  ships  had  by  this  time  become  extremely 
sloAv,  and  for  full  twenty  minutes  the  “ Royal  Sovereign  ” was  under  the 
direct  fire  of  the  “ Santa  Ana  ” and  “ Fougueux,”  and  more  partiall}^  under 
that  of  four  or  five  other  ships.  She  ought  to  have  been  beaten  into 
matches,  but  so  bad  was  the  enemy’s  gunnery  practice  that  she  sustained  no 
loss  of  any  importance  ; none  at  all,  indeed,  beyond  Avhat  dreAV  from  Col- 
lingwood the  sorrowing  cry  : “ Oh,  dear  ! Oh,  dear  ! I forgot  to  shift  that 
new  foretopsail.  It  Avon’t  be  Avorth  anything  after  this.”  But  about  tAventy 
minutes  after  noon  she  passed  sloAAdy  under  the  stern  of  the  “ Santa  Ana,” 
across  the  bows  of  the  “ Fougueux.”  The  first  gun  she  fired  Avas  a sixt}' -eight 
pounder  carronade  on  the  port  side  of  the  forecastle.  This  Avas  loaded  Avith  one 
round-shot  and  a keg  of  five  hundred  musket  bullets,  and  AA^as  now  dis- 


36 


NAPOLEON'S  FRANCE 


charged  slap  into  the  stern  of  the  “ Santa  Ana.”  A second  or  two  later  the 
starboard,  loaded  in  the  same  way,  was  discharged  into  the  bows  of  the 
“ Fougueux.”  In  slow  succession  each  gun,  as  it  bore,  all  loaded  with  two 
round  shot,  some  with  three,  was  fired  into  the  stern  of  the  “ Santa  Ana” 
or  the  bows  of  the  “ Fougueux.”  As  she  drew  clear,  the  “ Royal  Sov- 
ereign’s ” helm  was  put  hard  a-starboard,  and  she  shot  up  alongside  of  the 
Santa  Ana,”  where  she  engaged  her,  broadside  to  broadside,  at  the  distance 
of  only  a few  yards.  Meanwhile  Nelson  was  occupied  in  seeing  that  Col- 
lingwood  should  not  be  interrupted.  All  that  Nelson  wished  was  gained, 
and  he  steered  for  the  centre  of  the  line.  Here  was  the  huge  “ Santisima 
Trinidad,”  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  guns,  commonly  spoken  of  as  a four- 
decker.  Captain  Hardy  represented  to  Nelson  that  the  enemy’s  ships  were 
so  crowded  at  the  point  abreast  of  them  that  it  was  impossible  to  go  through 
without  fouling  some  one  or  other.  “ It  does  not  signify  which  we  run  on 
board  of,”  answered  Nelson ; “ go  on  board  which  you  please ; take  ^^our 
choice.”  The  “ Victory  ” had  all  this  time  been  sustaining  the  fire  of  the 
“ Bucentaure,”  “ Santisima,”  “ Trinidad,”  and  the  ships  ahead  and  astern 
of  these.  When  yet  nearly  a mile  distant,  the  “ Bucentaure  ” fired  a trial  shot, 
which  fell  short ; a few  minutes  later  another,  and  then  others,  till  at  last,  one 
going  through  the  “ Victory’s  ” maintopgallant  sail,  gave  the  enemy  a visible 
proof  that  their  shot  would  reach.  Then  ever}^  ship  that  could  bring  a gun  to 
bear  opened  fire.  But  though  they  made  a great  deal  of  noise  and  smoke, 
and  though  the  shot  fell  thick  all  around,  comparatively  few  struck  the 
Victor}",”  which  on  her  part  reserved  her  fire,  though  one  or  two  of  her 
foremost  guns  were  discharged  accidentally  or  without  orders.  For  nearly 
half  an  hour  she  was  exposed  to  this  heavy  fire.  The  secretary.  Dr.  Scott, 
standing  by  Nelson’s  side,  was  killed  by  a round  shot ; another  passed  be- 
tween Nelson  and  Captain  Hardy.  A double-headed  shot  swept  away  eight 
marines  drawn  up  on  the  poop ; the  rest  were  immediately  ordered  down 
and  dispersed  around  the  ship.  The  mizzen-topmast  was  shot  away  about 
two-thirds  of  the  way  up  ; the  fore-sail  and  fore-topsail  were  in  ribbons  ; 
the  wheel  was  knocked  to  pieces.  But  this,  with  some  fifty  men  in 
all  killed  or  wounded,  was  the  full  amount  of  loss  sustained  by  the  “ Vic- 
tory ” from  this  tremendous  cannonade.  At  last,  a little  before  one,  she 
passed  under  the  stern  of  the  “ Bucentaure  ” so  close  that  her  main  yard- 
arm fouled  the  “ Bucentaure’s  ” vangs.  Her  fire  was  delivered  in  exactly 
the  same  way  as  the  “ Royal  Sovereign’s.”  The  sixty-eight  pounder  car- 
ronade  on  the  port  side  of  the  forecastle  was  the  first  gun,  and  its  charge  of 
a round-shot  and  a keg  of  five  hundred  musket  bullets  was  discharged  into 


THE  BATTLE  OF  TRAFALGAR. 


fig:i.p-MARSHAL  LORD  /Robert; 


•/IARSHA*' 


iRy  HAVEto^ 


^^A£:oFV/£a\^^ 


(j.G'ordo^^ 


UEN.LORD  KiTCtiENci<^_ 


(iRKAT  ENGLISH  SOLDIERS. 


Field  Marshal  Lord  Raglan,  horn  in  1788;  died  in  1855. 

Admiral  Lord  Nelson,  horn  in  1758,  and  killed  in  the 
inoinent  of  his  grandest  victory  at  Trafalger  in  1805. 

General  .‘^ir  Henry  Ifavcdock,  was  horn  in  1795,  and  died 
universally  regretted  in  1869. 

The  Dukeof  Wellington,  the  eoinineror  of  Napoleon,  was 
born  in  Ireland  in  1769,  and  died  in  1852. 


Field  Marshal  Lord  Roberts,  in  supreme  command  of  the 
Rrilish  forces  in  the  late  war  with  the  Boers,  was  born 
in  1«:J2. 

Gen.  (’.  G.  Gordon,  horn  in  1883;  killed  inthe.Soudan 
in  1885. 

Gen.  Lord  Kitchener,  second  in  command  in  the  late 
South  African  War.  is  slightly  i)ast  the  age  of  forty. 


NAPOLEON'S  FRANCE 


37 


tlie  “ Biicentaiire’s  ” cabin  windows.  As  she  slowly  moved  ahead  every  one 
of  the  fifty  guns  on  her  broadside,  all  double,  some  treble-shotted,  was  delib- 
erately discharged  in  the  same  manner.  It  was  said  afterwards  by  the 
‘‘  Bucentaure’s  ” officers  that  twenty  of  her  guns  were  dismounted  and 
nearly  four  hundred  of  her  men  killed  or  wounded  by  this  one  terrible 
broadside.  On  the  other  hand,  the  moment  the  “Victory’s”  bows  opened 
clear  of  the  “ Bucentaure’s  ” stern  she  was  exposed  to  the  direct  fire  of  the 
“ Neptune  ” and  “ Redoutable.”  But  this,  however  well  intended,  was 
harmless  in  comparison  with  the  “ Victory’s and  though  at  such  a short 
distance  it  was  impossible  to  help  sometimes  hitting  such  a huge  target  as 
a three-decker,  the  greater  number  of  the  shot  were  scattered  about  through 
her  rigging  and  but  few  struck  the  hull  or  caused  any  loss  to  the  crew.  It 
was  probably  Hardy’s  intention,  after  drawing  clear  of  the  “ Bucentaure,” 
to  range  up  on  her  starboard  beam,  as  the  “ Royal  Sovereign  ” had  done  to 
the  “ Santa  Ana.”  If  so,  however,  he  was  unable  to  execute  it ; for  the 
“ Redoutable  ” had  closed  up  to  such  a degree  that,  whether  accidentally 
or  of  set  purpose,  the  two  ships  fell  foul  of  each  other,  the  starboard  bow  of 
the  “ Victory  ” striking  the  port  bow  of  the  “ Redoutable and  her  fore- 
yard catching  in  the  “ Redoutable’s  ” rigging,  the  two  ships  fell  alongside 
each  other  and  so  remained.  The  steady  fire  of  the  “ Victory’s  ” lower  and 
middle  decks  drove  the  “ Redoutable’s  ” men  from  their  guns  ; but  above 
the  advantage  was  with  the  French.  A chance  shot  struck  Nelson  on  the 
left  shoulder  as  he  stood  near  the  hatchway.  The  bullet  passed  down 
through  the  epaulette  through  the  lungs,  through  the  spine,  and  lodged  in 
the  muscles  of  the  back.  He  fell  on  the  very  same  spot  where  his  secretary 
had  been  killed  shortly  before.  As  Captain  Hardy  attempted  to  raise  him 
he  said,  “ They’ve  done  for  me  at  last.  Hardy.”  “ I hope  not,”  answered 
Hardy.  “ Yes,”  replied  Nelson  ; “ my  backbone  is  shot  through.”  He  was 
carried  below ; but,  though  from  the  first  the  wound  was  recognized  as 
mortal,  he  did  not  die  for  more  than  three  hours.  His  fall  was  speedily 
avenged ; for  though  it  was  not  known  who  fired  the  fatal  shot,  not  a man 
came  out  of  the  “ Redoutable’s  ” mizzen-top  alive.  The  French  musketry, 
however,  was  at  this  time  very  deadly.  Within  a few  minutes  after  Nelson’s 
fall  several  other  ofdcers  of  the  “ Victory  ” and  about  forty  men  were  killed 
or  wounded. 


CHAPTER  IV 


(FIRST  DECADE) 

NAPOLEON  ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


\_ResumL — The  salient  incidents  in  the  preceding  chapter  were  : England’s  declaration  of  war  against 
France — The  Cadoudal  conspiracy — Assassination  of  the  Duke  d’Enghien — The  Boulogne  coup — 
Napoleon’s  coronation — The  surrender  at  Ulm — Trafalgar — Victory  of  Austerlitz.] 

A USTERLITZ  placed  Napoleon  on  the  heights.  Within  a 3^ear  his 
x\_  power  was  supreme  in  Europe.  With  Western  Germany  united  in 
a federation  under  his  protectorate ; with  his  brother  Joseph,  made 
King  of  Naples  ; another  brother,  Louis,  King  of  Holland,  and  himself 
crowned  King  of  Italy,  he  was,  indeed,  the  “ conquerer  of  the  conti- 
nent.” His  successes  effected  the  dissolution  of  the  Holy  Roman 

Empire,  the  title  to  which  was  perforce  abandoned  by  the  Emperor  Francis 
(1806). 

Napoleon  was  now  ready  to  punish  the  Prussians,  whose  attitude  had 
been  vacillating  in  the  campaign  just  ended.  Within  a few  weeks  King 
Frederick  William  and  his  people  were  made  bitterly  to  regret  their  temerity 
in  crossing  swords  with  the  victors  of  Austerlitz.  At  Jena  and  Auerstiidt 
the  Prussian  army  was  surprised,  defeated,  and  destroyed.  In  his  Memoirs 
the  Count  de  Segur,  an  aid-de-camp  of  Napoleon,  gives  ns  a glimpse  of  the 
Emperor  at  Jena  : “ Towards  five  o’clock  Napoleon,  who  had  remained  alone 
with  Marshal  Soult,  was  saying  to  him  : ‘ Shall  we  beat  them  ?’  ‘ Yes,  if 

they  are  there,’  answered  the  Marshal ; ‘ but  I fear  they  may  not  be  !’  Just 
then  the  first  musketry  reports  were  heard,  when  the  Emperor  gayly  ex- 
claimed : ‘ There  they  are  ! The  affair  is  beginning  !’  and  immediately  pro- 
ceeded to  harangue  the  infantry  and  to  excite  its  emulation  against  the 
celebrated  Prussian  cavalry,  ‘which  3^011  must,’  he  said,  ‘destroy  before  our 
squares,  as  at  x\usterlitz,  we  crushed  the  Russian  infantry.’  ” This  was 
done,  and  the  Prussian  retreat  became  a rout;  every  fortress  in  the  country 
38 


NAPOLEON  ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


39 


surrendered,  80,000  prisoners  were  taken,  and  within  a month  Napoleon 
entered  Berlin. 

Onl}^  Russia  and  England  now  remained  to  dispute  the  sovereignty  of 
the  French  Emperor,  and  England  present!}^  stood  alone,  and  at — sea.  In 
his  Berlin  Decree  of  November,  1806,  Napoleon  declared  the  British  isles 
in  a state  of  blockade,  and  prohibited  all  commercial  intercourse  • with 
them — a mandate  which  the  continental  nations,  in  their  subserviency  to 
the  conqueror’s  policy  were  forced  to  obey.  This  so-called  “ Continental 
System  ” was  framed  by  Napoleon  in  revenge  for  the  extensive  English 
system  of  blockades  after  Trafalgar  had  put  it  out  of  his  power  to  attempt 
the  control  of  the  seas.  The  principal  decrees  were : Berlin,  November 
21,  1806;  Milan,  December  17,  1807;  Paris,  January  ii,  1808;  Ant- 
werp, July  25,  1810;  Trianon,  August  5,  1810;  Fontainebleau,  October 
19,  1810.  By  these  decrees  all  ports  occupied  by  the  French  were  closed 
to  the  English,  and  all  English  goods  were  to  be  destroyed  wherever 
found  in  any  country  occupied  by  the  French.  All  states  under  French 
influence  had  to  adopt  this  system.  The  English,  who  claimed  the  right 
of  blockading  any  coast  with  but  little  regard  to  the  effectiveness  of  the 
blockade,  retaliated  by  Orders  in  Council,  by  which  no  ships  of  any  power 
were  allowed  to  trade  between  any  French  ports  or  the  ports  of  any  country 
closed  to  England.  Whatever  the  real  merits  of  the  “ system,”  and  although 
it  was  the  cause  of  war  between  the  United  States  and  England,  its  execu- 
tion did  most  to  damage  France  and  Napoleon  and  to  band  all  Europe 
against  it. 

One  very  remarkable  feature  of  the  imperial  wars  was,  that,  with  the 
exception  of  the  interior  police,  of  which  Fouche  was  the  soul,  the  whole 
government  of  France  was  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Emperor.  At 
Warsaw,  Napoleon’s  attention  was  not  only  occupied  with  the  affairs  of 
his  army,  but  he  directed  the  whole  machinery  of  the  French  Government 
just  the  same  as  if  he  had  been  in  Paris.  Daily  “ estafettes,”  and  fre- 
■quently  the  useless  auditors  of  the  Council  of  State,  brought  him  reports 
more  or  less  correct,  and  curious  disclosures  which  were  frequently  the 
invention  of  the  police.  The  portfolios  of  the  Ministers  arrived  every 
week,  with  the  exception  of  those  of  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  and 
the  Minister  of  the  War  Department.  This  state  of  things  lasted  during 
the  ten  months  of  the  Emperor’s  absence  from  Paris.  Louis  XIV  said^ 
“ I am  myself  the  State.”  Napoleon  did  not  say  this  ; but  in  fact,  under 
his  reign  the  Government  of  France  was  always  at  his  headquarters. 
While  Napoleon  was  at  Warsaw  a battle  was  not  the  only  thing  to  be 


40 


NAPOLEON  ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


thought  about ; affairs  were  much  more  complicated  than  during  the  cam- 
paign of  Vienna.  It  was  necessary  on  the  one  hand  to  observe  Prussia, 
which  was  occupied ; and  on  the  other  to  anticipate  the  Russians,  whose 
movement  indicated  that  they  were  inclined  to  strike  the  first  blow.  In 
the  preceding  campaign  Austria,  before  the  taking  of  Vienna,  was  engaged 
alone.  The  case  was  different  now.  During  the  Prussian  campaign  Austria 
played  precisely  the  same  waiting  game  which  Prussia  had  played  during 
the  campaign  of  Austria.  As  Prussia  had,  before  the  battle  of  Austerlitz, 
awaited  the  success  or  defeat  of  the  French  to  decide  whether  she  should 
remain  neutral  or  declare  herself  against  France,  or  Austria,  doubtless  sup- 
posing that  Russia  would  be  more  fortunate  as  the  ally  of  Prussia  than  she 
had  been  as  her  ally,  assembled  a corps  of  forty  thousand  men  in  Bohemia. 
That  corps  was  called  an  army  of  observation;  but  the  nature  of  these 
armies  of  observation  is  well  known  ; they  belong  to  the  class  of  armed 
neutralities,  like  the  ingenious  invention  of  sanitary  cordons.  Napoleon  had 
not  a moment  to  lose,  but  his  activity  required  no  spur ; he  had  hastened 
the  battle  of  Austerlitz  to  anticipate  Prussia,  and  he  now  found  it  necessary 
to  anticipate  Russia  in  order  to  keep  Austria  in  a state  of  indecision. 

The  Emperor,  therefore,  left  Warsaw  about  the  end  of  January,  and 
immediately  gave  orders  for  engaging  the  Russian  army  in  the  beginning 
of  February  ; but  in  spite  of  his  desire  of  beginning  the  attack,  he  was 
anticipated.  On  the  8th  of  February,  at  seven  in  the  morning,  he  was 
attacked  by  the  Russians,  who  advanced  during  a terrible  storm  of  snow, 
which  fell  in  large  flakes.  They  approached  Preussich-Eylau,  where  the 
Emperor  was,  and  the  Imperial  Guard  stopped  the  Russian  column. 
Nearly  the  whole  French  army  was  engaged  in  that  battle — one  of  the 
most  sanguinary  ever  fought  in  Europe.  The  corps  commanded  by  Berna- 
dotte  was  not  engaged  in  the  contest ; it  had  been  stationed  on  the  left  at 
Mohrungen,  whence  it  menaced  Dantzic.  The  issues  of  the  battle  would 
have  been  ver}^  different  had  the  four  divisions  of  infantry  and  two  of 
cavalry  composing  Bernadotte’s  corps  arrived  in  time ; but  unfortunately 
the  officer  instructed  to  convey  orders  to  the  general  to  march  without 
dela}^  on  Preussich-Eylau  was  taken  by  a body  of  Cossacks  ; so  Bernadotte 
failed  to  arrive.  He  was  accused  of  not  having  been  willing  to  march  on 
Eylau,  though,  as  it  was  alleged.  General  d’Hautpoult  had  informed  him  of 
the  necessity  of  his  presence.  This  battle  was,  indeed,  terrible.  Night 
came  on — Bernadotte’s  corps  was  instantly,  but  in  vain,  expected ; and  after 
a great  loss  the  French  army  had  the  melancholy  honor  of  passing  the 
night  on  the  field. 


From  a painting  by  Pils] 

ROUGET  1)E  LISLE  SINGING  THE  MARSEILLES. 

The  celebrated  national  song  of  France  was  composed  by  Rouget  de  Lisle,  an  officer  in  the  engineer  corps  at  Strasburg,  early  in  the  French  Revolution.  It  became  highly 
popular  and  greatly  contributed  to  the  success  of  the  revolutionary  movement.  It  received  its  name  from  being  sung  for  the  first  time  in  Paris  by  Ti  band  of  men  who  were  brought 
from  Marseilles  by  Rarbaroux  to  aid  in  the  revolution  of  August  10,  1792. 


NAPOLEOX  AT  TILSIT. 

The  French  victories  of  Jena  and  Auerstiidt  in  October,  1806,  crushed  Prussia  to  the  dust.  The  Prussian  Queen  Louisa,  beloved 
in  her  country  for  her  spirit,  beauty,  and  ardent  patriotism,  ai)pealed  in  person  to  Napoleon  for  an  abatement  of  his  harsli  terms,  and 
in  rej)ly  was  brutally  insulted.  Filled  with  anguish  for  her  suffering  country,  she  soon  afterward  died  broken  hearted. 


NAPOLEON  ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


41 


Bernadette  at  lengtli  arrived,  but  too  late.  He  met  the  enemy,  who 
were  retreating  without  the  fear  of  being  molested  towards  Konigsberg,  the 
only  capital  remaining  of  Prussia.  The  King  of  Prussia  was  then  at 
]\Iemel,  a small  port  on  the  Baltic,  thirty  leagues  from  Konigsberg.  After 
the  battle  both  sides  remained  stationary,  and  several  days  elapsed  without 
anything  remarkable  taking  place.  The  offers  of  peace  made  by  the 
Emperor,  with  very  little  earnestness  it  is  true,  were  disdainfully  rejected,  as 
if  a victory  disputed  with  Napoleon  was  to  be  regarded  as  a triumph.  The 
battle  of  Eylau  seemed  to  turn  the  heads  of  the  Russians,  wdio  chanted 
Te  Deum  on  the  occasion.  But  while  the  Emperor  was  making  preparations 
to  advance  his  diplomacy  was  taking  effect  in  a distant  quarter  and  raising 
up  against  Russia  an  old  and  formidable  enemy.  Turkey  declared  war 
against  her.  This  was  a powerful  diversion  and  obliged  Russia  to  strip  her 
western  frontiers  to  secure  a line  of  defense  on  the  south.  Then  followed 
Napoleon’s  victory  at  Friedland. 

The  subsequent  meeting  of  the  sovereigns  at  Tilsit  is  one  of  the 
culminating  points  of  modern  history,  and  the  waters  of  the  Niemen 
reflected  the  image  of  Napoleon  at  the  height  of  his  glory.  The  interview 
and  the  melancholy  situation  of  the  King  of  Prussia  are  facts  generally 
known.  Savary  gives  the  following  account  of  it : “ The  Emperor  Napoleon 
whose  courtesy  was  manifest  in  all  his  actions,  ordered  a large  raft  to  be 
floated  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  upon  which  was  constructed  a room  well 
covered  in  and  elegantly  decorated,  having  two  doors  on  opposite  sides,  each 
of  which  opened  into  an  antechamber.  The  work  could  not  have  been  better 
executed  in  Paris.  The  roof  was  surmounted  by  two  weathercocks,  one 
displaying  the  eagle  of  Russia  and  the  other  the  eagle  of  France.  The 
two  outer  doors  were  also  surmounted  by  the  eagles  of  the  two  countries. 
The  raft  was  precisely  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  with  the  two  doors  of  the 
salon  facing  the  two  opposite  banks.  The  two  sovereigns  appeared  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  and  embarked  at  the  same  moment.  But  the  Emperor 
Napoleon,  having  a good  boat  manned  by  marines  of  the  Guard,  arrived 
first  on  the  raft,  entered  the  room,  and  went  to  the  opposite  door,  which  he 
opened,  and  then  stationed  himself  on  the  edge  of  the  raft  to  receive  the 
Emperor  Alexander,  who  had  not  yet  arrived,  not  having  such  good  rowers 
as  the  Emperor  Napoleon.  The  two  Emperors  met  in  the  most  amicable 
way,  at  least  to  all  appearance.  They  remained  together  for  a considerable 
time,  and  then  they  took  leave  of  each  other  with  as  friendly  an  air  as  that 
with  which  they  had  met.  The  next  day  the  Emperor  of  Russia  established 
himself  at  Tilsit  with  a battalion  of  his  Guards.” 


42 


NAPOLEON  ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


“ Orders  were  given  for  evacuating  that  part  of  the  town  where  he  and 
his  battalion  were  to  be  quartered  ; and,  though  we  were  very  much  pressed 
for  room,  no  encroachment  on  the  space  allotted  to  the  Russians  was  thought 
' of.  On  the  day  the  Emperor  Alexander  entered  Tilsit  the  whole  arni}^  was 
under  arms.  The  Imperial  Guard  was  drawn  out  in  two  lines  of  three  deep 
from  the  landing-place  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon’s  quarters,  and  from  thence 
to  the  quarters  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia.  A salute  of  one  hundred  guns 
were  fired  the  moment  Alexander  stepped  ashore  on  the  spot  where  the 
Emperor  Napoleon  was  waiting  to  receive  him.  The  latter  carried  his 
attentions  to  his  visitor  so  far  as  to  send  from  his  quarters  the  furniture  for 
Alexander’s  bed-chamber.  Among  the  articles  sent  was  a camp-bed 
belonging  to  the  Emperor,  which  he  presented  to  Alexander,  who  appeared 
much  pleased  with  the  gift.  So  deep  was  the  hatred  cherished  by  Austria, 
that  she  suffered  herself  to  be  hurried  into  a ‘premature  renewal  of  hos- 
tilities, which  resulted  in  a swift  and  terrible  disaster.  Her  military 
preparations  were  sadly  defective ; her  finances  were  in  utter  confusion. 
But  the  French  army  was  occupied  in  Spain;  and  England,  it  was  known, 
would  provide  with  funds  any  government  which  was  willing  to  war  against 
France.  Borne  up  by  a vehement  popular  desire  to  avenge  the  wrongs 
which  the  empire  had  endured,  Austria  once  more  took  field.  Napoleon  was 
urging  the  pursuit  of  the  English  towards  Corunna,  where  tidings  reached 
him  which  sufficiently  revealed  the  purposes  of  Austria.  He  turned  back 
on  the  instant,  to  direct  the  greater  operation  of  which  Germany  was  now 
to  become  the  field.  The  concentration  of  his  troops  was  conducted  with 
such  energy  that  in  three  months  he  had  three  hundred  thousand  men  ready 
to  strike  at  Austria.  Never  has  his  success  been  so  dazzling  in  the  rapidity 
with  which  it  \vas  gained  and  the  vastness  of  the  results  which  it  yielded. 
In  little  more  than  a month  from  the  opening  of  the  campaign,  Vienna  had 
again  fallen  into  his  power.  The  tenacious  Austria  fought  on,  and  at 
Aspern  inflicted  a defeat  which,  if  sustained  by  a commander  of  inferior 
skill,  must  have  proved  disastrous.  But  Napoleon  extricated  himself  from 
the  perils  which  surrounded  him,  and  at  Wagram  regained  the  advantage 
he  had  lost.  In  a campaign  of  a hundred  days  unhappy  Austria  was 
once  more  beaten  to  the  ground,  and  a treaty  was  signed  by  which  one-fifth 
of  the  territory  and  population  of  the  empire  was  handed  over  to  France. 
Enormous  pecuniary  exactions  still  further  weakened  the  fallen  foe. 
Austria  submitted  to  extreme  humiliations.  She  became  bound  to  reduce 
her  army  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men.  And  that  no  element  of 
bitterness  might  be  wanting,  the  ancient  ramparts  of  Vienna — the  favorite 


NAPOLEON  ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


43 


walk  of  the  citizens — were  in  utter  wantonness  destroyed  the  order  of 
Napoleon.  Constant,  the  valet  de  chambre  of  the  Emperor,  gives  us  in  his 
interesting  ‘‘  Memoirs,”  these  interesting  details  of  the  battle  of  Essling  : 
“The  battle  of  Essling  was  disastrous  in  every  way.  Twelve  thousand 
Frenchmen  were  killed.  The  cause  of  all  this  evil  came  from  the  breaking 
of  the  bridges,  which  might  have  been  foreseen,  it  appears  to  me ; for  the 
same  thing  had  happened  two  or  three  da3^s  before  the  battle.  The  soldiers 
complained  openly  ; several  corps  of  infantry  shouted  to  the  generals  to  get 
off  their  horses  and  fight  in  the  midst  of  them.  But  this  bad  humor 
detracted  nothing  from  their  courage  and  their  patience  ; one  saw  regiments 
remain  five  hours,  weapons  in  hand,  exposed  to  the  most  terrible  fire.  Three 
times  during  the  evening  the  Emperor  sent  to  ask  Marshal  Massena  if  he 
could  hold  out,  and  the  brave  captain,  who  saw  his  son  fighting  for  the  first 
time,  and  his  friends  and  most  intrepid  officers  falling  by  the  dozen  around 
him,  held  out  till  night  fell.  ‘ I will  not  turn  back  while  da^dight  lasts,’ 
he  said,  ‘ those  rapscallians  of  Austrians  would  be  too  conceited.’  ” 

The  Marshal’s  constancy  saved  the  day ; but  then,  as  he  said  himself 
the  next  day,  he  was  always  lucky.  At  the  opening  of  the  battle  he  noticed 
that  one  of  his  stirrups  was  too  long.  He  called  a soldier  to  shorten  it,  and 
during  this  operation  he  put  his  leg  over  the  neck  of  his  horse ; a ball 
came  which  carried  off  the  soldier  and  cut  the  stirrup  without  touching 
either  the  Marshal  or  his  horse.  “Well!”  said  he,  “it  seems  I must  get 
down  and  change  my  saddle  1”  And  the  Marshal  made  this  remark  crossly. 
The  surgeons  and  health  officers  conducted  themselves  admirably  on  this 
terrible  day ; the}^  displayed  unheard-of  courage  and  activity  which  aston- 
ished even  the  Emperor;  hence,  in  passing  near  them,  he  several  times 
addressed  them  as  “ My  brave  surgeons  !”  M.  Larrey  especially  was  sublime. 
After  having  treated  all  the  wounded  of  the  guard,  who  were  huddled 
tegether  in  the  isle  of  Lobau,  he  asked  if  there  was  any  soup  to  give  them. 
“ No,”  replied  the  aides.  “ Make  some  of  them,”  said  he,  pointing  to  some 
horses  near  him ; “ make  some  with  the  horses  that  belong  to  this  picket.” 
The  horses  were  the  property  of  a general.  When  some  one  went  near  to 
obey  M.  Earrey’s  orders  the  owner  exclaimed,  grew  angry,  and  swore  that 
he  would  not  allow  them  taken.  “ Oh,  well  1”  said  the  worth}^  surgeon, 
“ let  them  take  mine  and  kill  them,  so  that  my  comrades  ma}^  have  some 
soup.”  So  said,  so  done  ; and  as  there  were  no  iron  pots  on  the  island,  the 
soup  was  made  in  cuirasses  ; it  was  black  with  gunpowder  and  there  was  no 
salt.  Marshal  Massena  tasted  this  soup  and  found  it  good.  One  knew  not 
which  to  admire  the  most,  the  zeal  of  the  surgeons,  the  courage  with  which 


44 


NAPOLEON  ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


they  braved  danger  by  caring  for  the  wounded  on  the  field  of  battle,  even  in 
the  midst  of  balls,  or  the  stoical  firmness  of  the  soldiers,  who,  lying  on  the 
ground,  one  without  an  arm,  another  without  a leg,  chatted  together  about 
the  campaigns  while  awaiting  their  turn  to  be  operated  on.  Some  of  them 
went  so  far  as  to  perform  acts  of  politeness : “ Mr.  Doctor,  begin  with  my 
neighbor ; he  is  suffering  more  than  I am.  ...  I can  wait  awhile.”  A cam 
noneer  had  both  legs  carried  off  by  a ball ; two  of  his  comrades  picked  him 
up  and  made  a litter  with  branches  of  trees,  on  which  they  laid  him  to 
transport  him  to  the  island.  The  poor,  mutilated  fellow  did  not  make  a 
single  outcry.  “ I am  very  thirsty,”  he  said  now  and  then  to  his  porters. 
As  they  were  crossing  one  of  the  bridges  he  supplicated  them  to  stop  and 
get  him  a little  wine  or  brandy  to  revive  his  strength.  They  believed  him 
and  departed  ; but  they  had  not  gone  twenty  steps  when  the  cannoneer  cried 
out : “ Don’t  go  so  fast,  my  comrades  ; I shall  arrive  sooner  than  you.  Long 
live  France  !”  And  making  an  effort,  he  let  himself  roll  into  the  Danube. 

The  same  Constant  tells  the  most  dramatic  story  of  the  divorce  of 
Josephine.  Some  days  after  all  these  rejoicings  the  Viceroy  of  Italy, 
Eugene  de  Beauharnais,  arrived.  He  learned  from  the  Emperor’s  own 
mouth  the  terrible  measure  which  circumstances  were  about  to  render 
necessary.  This  confidence  overwhelmed  him  ; troubled  and  despairing  he 
went  to  his  Majesty,  and  as  he  could  not  believe  what  he  had  just  heard  he 
asked  the  Emperor  if  it  were  true  that  the  divorce  must  take  place.  The 
Emperor  made  a sign  in  the  affirmative  and  held  out  his  hand  to  his  adopted 
son  with  a sorrowful  expression.  “ Sire,  permit  me  to  leave  you.”  “ How?” 
“ Yes,  Sire ; the  son  of  her  who  is  no  longer  Empress  cannot  remain  Vice- 
roy ; I will  follow  my  mother  in  her  retreat  and  console  her.”  “ Thou  wilt 
leave  me,  Eugene  ? Thou  ! And  knowest  thou  not  how  imperative  are  the 
reasons  which  compel  me  to  such  a step  ? And  if  I obtain  him,  that  son, 
the  object  of  my  dearest  wishes,  that  son  so  necessary  to  me,  who  will  take 
my  place  near  him  when  I shall  be  absent  ? who  will  act  as  a father  to  him 
if  I die?  who  will  bring  him  up?  who  will  make  a man  of  him?”  There 
were  tears  in  the  Emperor’s  eyes  as  he  uttered  these  last  words ; again  he 
took  the  hand  of  Prince  Eugene,  and  drawing  him  to  his  breast,  he  em- 
braced him  tenderly.  I could  not  hear  the  close  of  this  interesting  conver- 
sation. At  last  the  fatal  day  arrived;  it  was  the  i6th  of  December.  The 
imperial  family  had  reassembled  in  extremely  ceremonious  costumes,  when 
the  Empress  entered,  in  a very  simple  white  robe  without  the  least  orna- 
ment ; she  was  pale  but  calm,  and  leaned  on  the  arm  of  Queen  Hortense, 
who  was  as  pale  and  much  more  affected  than  her  august  mother.  Prince 


NAPOLEON  ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


45 


de  Beaiiliarnais  was  standing  beside  the  Emperor,  bis  arms  crossed,  and 
trembling  so  violently  that  he  seemed  likely  to  fall  at  any  moment.  When 
the  Empress  had  entered.  Count  Regnaud  de  Saint-Jean  d’Angely  read  aloud 
the  act  of  separation.  This  reading  was  listened  to  in  profound  silence ; 
every  face  was  expressive  of  profound  anxiety ; the  Empress  seemed  more 
calm  than  the  others,  although  her  cheeks  were  constantly  furrowed  with 
tears.  She  sat  in  an  armchair  in  the  middle  of  the  salon,  her  elbow  resting 
on  a table ; Queen  Hortense  stood  behind  her,  sobbing.  The  reading  of 
the  act  finished,  the  Empress  rose,  dried  her  e^^es,  and  in  a voice  that  was 
almost  firm,  pronounced  the  words  of  adhesion ; then  she  sat  down  again  in 
her  armchair,  took  a pen  from  the  hands  of  M.  Regnaud  de  Saint-Jean 
d’Angely,  and  signed.  Afterwards  she  withdrew^,  still  supported  b}^  Queen 
Hortense.  Prince  Eugene  went  out  at  the  same  moment  through  the  study, 
and  his  strength  failing  him,  he  fell  down  unconscious  between  the  two 
doors.  The  usher  of  the  study  raised  him  and  put  him  in  charge  of  his 
aides-de-camp,  who  lavished  on  him  all  the  attentions  required  b}^  so  painful 
a position. 

“ During  this  terrible  ceremony  the  Emperor  did  not  say  a word,  did 
not  make  a gesture ; he  was  as  motionless  as  a statue,  his  eyes  fixed  and 
almost  haggard.  He  was  silent  and  gloomy  all  day  long.  In  the  evening, 
just  as  he  had  gone  to  bed,  and  while  I was  awaiting  his  last  orders,  the 
door  opened  suddenly  and  I saw  the  Empress  enter,  her  hair  in  disorder  and 
her  face  very  much  drawn.  Her  aspect  terrified  me.  Josephine  (for  she 
was  no  longer  anything  but  Josephine)  advanced  with  trembling  steps 
toward  the  Emperor’s  bed.  When  nearly  there  she  stopped  and  cried  in  a 
heart-rending  manner.  She  fell  upon  the  bed,  passed  her  arms  around  His 
Majest^^’s  neck,  and  lavished  on  him  the  tenderest  caresses.  My  emotion 
cannot  be  described.  The  Emperor  also  began  to  weep ; he  sat  up,  and 
pressed  Josephine  to  his  heart,  saying:  ‘ Come,  my  good  Josephine,  be  more 
reasonable.  Come,  courage,  courage  ; I shall  always  be  thy  friend.’  Stifled 
by  her  sobs,  the  Empress  could  not  reply ; then  there  was  a silent  scene 
which  lasted  several  minutes,  during  which  their  blended  tears  and  sobs  told 
more  than  the  tenderest  verbal  expressions. 

“ At  last  His  Majesty,  coming  out  of  this  prostration  as  from  a dream, 
perceived  that  I was  there,  and  said  : ‘ Go  out,  Constant,’  in  a voice  altered 
by  his  tears.  I obeyed  and  went  into  the  adjoining  salon.  An  hour  later 
I saw  Josephine  go  back,  still  very  sad,  still  in  tears ; she  made  me  a kindly 
sign  in  passing.  Then  I re-entered  the  sleeping  chamber  to  fetch  away 
the  candles,  as  I was  accustomed  to  do  every  evening.  The  Emperor  was 


46 


NAPOLEON  ON  THE  HEIGHTS 


as  silent  as  tlie  grave  and  so  buried  in  liis  bed  that  it  was  impossible  for  me 
to  see  liis  face.  The  next  morning,  when  I went  into  the  Emperor’s 
chamber,  he  did  not  say  a word  to  me  concerning  the  visit  of  the  Empress, 
but  I found  him  suffering  and  depressed.  Some  badly  stifled  sighs  issued 
from  his  breast ; he  did  not  speak  while  his  toilet  was  being  made,  and  as 
soon  as  it  was  over  he  went  into  his  cabinet.  It  was  on  that  day  Josephine 
was  to  leave  the  Tuileries  and  go  to  Malmaison.  All  those  whose  duties 
did  not  detain  them  elsewhere  were  assembled  under  the  vestibule  to  see 
once  more  this  dethroned  Empress  whom  all  hearts  followed  into  her  exile. 
We  looked  at  each  other  without  daring  to  speak.  Josephine  appeared, 
closely  veiled,  one  arm  over  the  shoulder  of  one  of  her  ladies  and  the  other 
holding  a handkerchief  to  her  eyes.  There  was  a totally  indescribable 
chorus  of  lamentations  when  this  adored  woman  crossed  the  short  space 
which  separated  her  from  her  carriage.  She  got  into  it  without  casting  a 
last  look  at  the  palace  she  was  quitting  forever.  The  blinds  were  instantly 
pulled  down  and  the  horses  went  off  like  lightning.  Some  hours  later  the 
Emperor  departed  for  Versailles.” 


CHAPTER  V 


(FIRST  DECADE) 

ENGLAND  AND  THE  WORLD  AT  LARGE 


\_Resume. — From  1793  to  1815  England  was  almost  continually  at  war  with  France.  So,  indeed,  was 
“ the  World  at  Large.”  The  younger  Pitt  was  the  commanding  figure  in  English  affairs.] 

At  the  age  of  twenty-five  William  Pitt  was  master  of  England  as  no 
prime  minister  had  ever  been  before.  Though  not  endowed  with 
his  father’s  genius  for  oratory,  he  addressed  with  even  greater 
effect  his  eloquent  political  platitudes  to  the  influential  middle  classes 
who  admired  him.  Says  J.  R.  Green  : “ In  his  love  of  peace,  his  immense 
industry,  his  despatch  of  business,  his  skill  in  debate,  his  knowledge  of 
finance,  he  recalled  Sir  Robert  Walpole ; but  he  had  virtues  which  Walpole 
never  possessed,  and  he  was  free  from  Walpole’s  worse  defects.  He  was 
careless  of  personal  gain.  He  was  too  proud  to  rule  by  corruption.  His 
lofty  self-esteem  left  no  room  for  any  jealousy  of  subordinates.  He  was 
generous  in  his  appreciation  of  youthful  merits ; and  the  ‘ boys  ’ he  gathered 
round  him,  such  as  Canning  and  Lord  Wellesley,  rewarded  his  generosity 
by  a devotion  which  death  left  untouched.” 

Pitt  was  strongest  as  a financier,  and  he  appeared  at  the  precise  moment 
when  England  was  most  in  need  of  a premier  gifted  with  his  special  powers. 
“ The  progress  of  the  nation  was  wonderful.  Population  more  than  doubled 
during  the  eighteenth  century,  and  the  advance  of  wealth  was  even  greater 
than  that  of  population.  The  war  had  added  a hundred  millions  to  the 
national  debt  but  the  burden  was  hardly  felt.  The  loss  of  America  only 
increased  the  commerce  with  that  country,  and  industry  had  begun  that 
great  career  that  was  to  make  Britain  the  workshop  of  the  world.” 

Pitt  was  reall}^  a peace  minister,  and  once  France  had  declared  war 
against  England  his  power  waned.  A few  months  before  the  Peace  of  Lune- 

47 


48 


ENGLAND  AND  THE  WORLD  AT  LARGE 


ville  (i8oi),  lie  effected  the  union  of  Ireland  with  England.  A panic 
aroused  in  1796  by  an  attempted  French  invasion  under  Hoche  had 
awakened  passions  of  cruelty  and  tyranny  which  turned  Ireland,  according 
to  the  historian  Green,  “ into  a hell.”  Soldiers  and  yeomanry  marched 
over  the  country,  torturing  and  scourging  the  “ croppies,”  as  the  Irish 
peasantry  were  called,  in  derision,  from  their  short-cut  hair,  robbing,  ravish- 
ing, and  murdering.  As  the  matter  was  finally  arranged  in  June,  1800,  one 
hundred  Irish  members  became  part  of  the  House  of  Commons  at  West- 
minster, and  twenty-eight  temporal  with  four  spiritual  peers,  chosen  for 
each  Parliament  by  their  fellows,  took  their  seats  in  the  House  of  Lords. 
Commerce  between  the  two  countries  was  freed  from  all  restrictions. 

Wilberforce  said  that  Austerlitz  killed  Pitt.  The  great  premier  was 
but  forty-seven  years  of  age  when  the  “ sun  ” of  Napoleon  reached  its 
zenith.  “ Roll  up  that  map,”  said  Pitt,  pointing  to  an  atlas  of  Europe 
which  hung  upon  the  wall ; ” it  will  not  be  wanted  these  ten  ^^ears.”  That 
was  in  January,  1806;  and  he  died,  was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey  in 
the  grave  of  his  father,  the  great  Earl  of  Chatham.  “ What  grave,” 
said  Lord  Wellesley,  “ contains  such  a father  and  such  a son  ? What  sep- 
ulchre embosoms  the  remains  of  so  much  human  excellence  and  glory  ?” 

It  was  in  connection  with  the  disturbances  in  Ireland  that  the  fame  of 
Robert  Emmet — the  Irish  patriot  and  orator — became  distinguished.  He 
was  a school-fellow  of  Thomas  Moore,  the  poet,  in  Trinity  College,  from 
which  he  was  expelled  for  avowing  republican  principles,  1798,  and  then 
joined  the  Association  of  United  Irishmen,  who  undertook  to  separate 
Ireland  from  Great  Britain  and  establish  an  independent  republic.  He 
became  leader  in  this  movement,  and  on  its  failure  went  to  France  and 
planned  a general  uprising  of  the  Irish  people.  In  1802  be  returned  to 
Dublin,  organized  his  forces,  established  depots  of  powder  and  firearms,  and 
designated  1803,  23,  as  the  time  for  seizing  the  castle  and  arsenal. 

On  that  day  the  insurgents  killed  the  chief  justice.  Lord  Kilwarden,  and 
fled  at  the  first  volley  from  the  garrison.  Emmet  left  the  city,  but  returning 
to  bid  his  betrothed  adieu,  was  arrested,  tried,  and  condemned,  and  the 
sentence  of  death  was  executed.  He  defended  himself  in  a speech  of 
remarkable  eloquence. 

At  this  period  the  fame  of  Wellington  became  luminous.  Gleig,  in  his 
“ Life  of  Wellington,”  speaking  of  him  as  Colonel  Wellesley,  as  he  was  in 
1802,  and  in  relation  to  his  brilliant  services  in  India  then,  quotes  from  the 
letter  of  a young  officer  this  commendation  : ” Everything  goes  well  because 
Colonel  Wellesley  is  in  command.  Whatever  he  undertakes  he  does 


(;0\]HT  (jEORg 


CapriVi 


IUdWig 

:Windthors/ 


!!^^'^01a55ALLL 


GROUP  OF  GREAT  GERMAN  STATESMEN. 


Bismarck,  one  of  the  greatest  of  modern  statesmen, 
was  born  in  1814,  and  died  in  1898. 

Caprivi,  born  in  1881 ; died  in  1899. 

Ludwig  Windthorst,  leader  of  the  German  Catholics, 
was  born  in  1812,  and  died  in  1891. 


Prince  Hohenlohe,  born  in  1819,  is  now  Chancellor  of 
the  German  Empire. 

Ferdinand  Lassalle,  leader  of  Socialists,  born  in  1825; 
died  in  1864. 


IeoXH 


L.'4iJi- 


Pius^y^ 


Pius  ^ 


POPKS  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  ('ENTUUY. 


Gregory  XVI,  born  in  1765;  liecame  I'ope  in  1831;  died 
in  1846. 

Leo  XII, born  in  1760;  became  Pope  in  1823;  died  in  1829. 
Leo  XII  I,  born  in  1810;  became  Pope  in  1878. 


Pius  VH,  born  in  1742  ; became  Pope  in  1800  ; died  in  1823. 
Pins  Vlir,  born  in  1761  ; became  Pope  in  1829;  died  in 
1830. 

Pius  IX,  born  in  1790;  became  Pope  in  1846;  died  in  1878. 


ENGLAND  AND  THE  WORLD  AT  LARGE 


49 


admirably.”  That  was  certainly  true.  It  will  be  remembered  that  after  the 
conclusion  of  the  treaty  of  Tilsit  Napoleon  had,  for  the  time,  disposed  of  all 
his  Continental  enemies,  and,  at  the  instigation  of  Russia,  he  resolved  first 
to  subjugate  Portugal,  and  afterwards  to  expel  the  Bourbon  dynast}^  from 
Spain,  substituting  his  brother  Joseph  for  Charles  IV.  Russia  encouraged 
the  French  Emperor  in  his  designs  upon  the  Peninsula,  first,  in  order  to 
withdraw  his  attention  from  Poland,  and,  secondly,  in  the  event  of  a general 
peace,  to  secure  his  assent  to  the  incorporation  in  the  Russian  Empire  of 
Finland,  Wallachia,  and  Moldavia.  Napoleon  was  anxious  completely 
to  subjugate  Portugal,  because  that  country  was  the  traditional  ally  of 
England,  and  an  exclusive  and  lucrative  trade  was  carried  on  between  the 
two  nations.  He  also  regarded  it  as  necessary  to  his  Continental  system, 
and  conducive  to  the  strength  and  permanence  of  his  d^mast}^,  that  a member 
of  his  own  family  should  replace  the  Bourbons  on  the  Spanish  throne. 
The  Portuguese  as  a race  were  well  disposed  towards  England,  and  ready 
to  welcome  British  assistance  in  maintaining  their  independence.  The 
Spaniards,  on  the  other  hand,  wished  to  be  left  alone  to  manage  their  own 
affairs;  and  though  they  objected  to  French  interference,  and  greedily 
accepted  the  money  and  stores  which  the  British  Government  so  lavishly 
supplied,  they  appear  to  have  disliked  the  English  even  more  than  they  did 
the  French.  This  is  shown  by  the  speech  which  Castanos  made  to  the 
French  officers  after  the  affair  at  Bayleu,  when  he  remarked  : “ Let  not 
Napoleon  persevere  in  aiming  at  a conquest  which  is  unattainable.  Let 
him  not  force  us  into  the  arms  of  the  English.  They  are  hateful  to  us, 
and  up  to  the  present  moment  we  have  rejected  their  proffered  succors.” 
The  revolt  of  the  Spanish  colonies  in  America  increased  the  ill-feeling 
against  England.  This  revolt  was  as  ruinous  to  Spain  as  it  was  advan- 
tageous to  English  merchants,  who  were  enabled  to  participate  in  a trans- 
atlantic trade  which  had  previously  been  monopolized  by  the  parent  kingdom. 
As  regards  the  Portuguese  and  Spanish  troops,  both  at  first  were  equall}^ 
useless,  not  on  account  of  the  inferiority  of  the  raw  material,  but  because 
the  officers  were  bigoted,  conceited,  and  devoid  of  any  idea  of  discipline  and 
subordination.  The  Portuguese,  however,  were  wise  enough  to  recognize 
their  own  inefficiency,  and  to  submit  themselves  to  the  control  of  British 
officers,  under  whose  supervision  they  graduall}^  improved  until,  in  Wel- 
lington’s opinion,  they  became  equal  to  the  native  troops  of  the  East  India 
Company.  They  would  not  tolerate  the  interference  of  any  foreign  agency 
with  the  discipline  and  organization  of  their  soldiers.  “ I am  quite  con- 
vinced,” said  Wellington,  ‘‘  that  the  Spanish  officers  would  rather  submit  to 
4 


50 


ENGLAND  AND  THE  WORLD  AT  LARGE 


France  than  consent  to  give  to  us  the  smallest  authority  over  their  troops ; 
neither  will  they  allow  that  our  officers  know  more  than  their  own.” 

And  3^et  these  troops  were  so  badly  commanded  as  to  be  almost  worth- 
less. Wellington  remarked  of  them  : ‘‘  They  are  mere  children  in  art  of 
war  ; they  know  only  how  to  advance,  how  to  take  to  flight,  and  reassemble 
again  as  if  they  were  in  a state  of  nature.”  One  of  their  own  generals,  the 
Duke  of  Albuquerque,  speaking  of  Cuesta’s  army,  made  the  following 
admission  : ‘‘In  our  marches  we  stopped  to  rest  like  a flock  of  sheep, 
without  taking  up  any  position.  By-and-by  we  resumed  our  journey  like 
pilgrims,  without  paying  any  attention  to  distance,  order,  or  formation.” 
Napoleon  was  of  a similar  opinion.  Writing  in  August,  1808,  he  said: 
“The  whole  body  of  insurrectionary  forces  is  incapable  of  beating  twenW 
flve  thousand  French  in  a good  position.”  And  Berthier,  in  a letter  to 
Joseph  Bonaparte,  dated  January  31,  1810,  observed : “The  Emperor  con- 
siders that  the  English  alone  are  formidable  in  Spain.  The  rest  are  the 
merest  canaille,  which  can  never  keep  the  field.” 

When  the  war  with  Austria  was  beginning  Wellington  arrived  at 
Lisbon  to  command  the  English  army  of  twenty  thousand  men,  and  Eng- 
land put  her  hand  in  earnest  to  the  work  of  rescuing  the  Peninsula.  It 
was  a large  undertaking  to  expel  from  the  country  they  had  seized  three 
hundred  thousand  of  the  best  troops  in  the  world,  abl}^  led  and  amply 
supplied.  Years  were  required  for  its  accomplishment.  The  means  em- 
ployed seemed  wholly  inadequate,  the  British  force  in  the  Peninsula  having 
at  no  time  exceeded  fifty  thousand  men.  To  this  was  added  a large  force  of 
Portuguese  and  Spaniards,  equipped  mainly  by  England,  not  always  to 
be  trusted  when  brought  to  face  the  enemy.  The  genius  of  Wellington 
bestowed  upon  these  apparently  insufficient  means  an  efficacy  not  naturall}^ 
their  own.  In  his  hands  they  achieved  an  unbroken  series  of  victories  in 
battle,  and  the  final  expulsion  of  the  French  from  the  Peninsula  of  which 
they  had  so  lawlessly  possessed  themselves. 

Wellington’s  earliest  care  was  to  provide  for  his  troops  a position  in 
which  they  could  find  a safe  retreat  if  the  fortune  of  war  should  turn  against 
him.  At  Torres  Vedras,  on  the  Portuguese  coast,  he  found  three  great  lines 
of  fortifications,  which  he  knew  his  army  could  make  good  against  any 
assailant,  and  where,  at  the  very  worst,  he  could  embark  if  that  extreme 
necessity  should  arise.  From  the  sure  basis  of  these  impregnable  defences 
he  would  extend  his  operations  as  his  strength  permitted.  Wellington  had 
advanced  to  the  frontier,  where  the  vast  forces  which  Napoleon  had  directed 
against  him  counseled  a retreat.  At  Busaco  he  waited  for  the  French  in  a 


ENGLAND  AND  THE  WORLD  AT  LARGE 


51 


strong  position,  and  having  there  inflicted  upon  them  a bloody  repulse,  he 
continued  his  retreat  to  the  lines  of  Torres  Vedras.  These  followed  the 
mountain-bastion  on  the  north  of  Lisbon,  and  left  no  single  point  open 
between  the  Tagus  and  the  sea.  With  the  approach  of  summer,  Massena 
arrived  in  Spain  and  moved  against  Portugal  with  an  army  of  70,000  men. 
Wellington  retreated  down  the  valley  and  halting  at  Busaco  gave  battle. 
The  French  attack  was  repelled,  but  the  English  commander  deemed  it 
wise  to  continue  his  retreat.  Massena  followed,  but  arriving  at  the  fortifi- 
cations of  Torres  Vedras,  he  hunted  in  vain  for  an  unprotected  point.  He 
remained  until  the  country  was  exhausted  when  he  began  a retreat.  Wel- 
lington was  too  weak  to  attack  him  until  he  received  re-enforcements  in  the 
spring  of  1811.  Then  he  moved  against  Massena,  who  retreated  north- 
ward. This  step  backward  was  the  beginning  of  the  general  movement 
which  continued  until  the  last  Frenchman  was  driven  from  the  soil  of  the 
Peninsula  and  the  British  were  immovably  fixed  upon  the  soil  of  France. 

Elsewhere  in  Europe  the  insurrection  in  Servia  and  the  war  between 
Russia  and  Turkey  are  the  chief  events  worthy  of  notice. 


CHAPTER  VI 


(SECOND  DECADE) 

THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND 

\^Risumi. — The  fortunes  of  America  during  the  first  decade  of  the  century  were  described  in  the  opening 
chapter.  The  narrative  included  accounts  of  the  War  with  Tripoli,  the  duel  between  Hamilton  and 
Burr,  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  and  the  important  events  leading  up  to  the  War  of  1812.] 

WHEN  Madison  succeeded  to  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States 
he  continued  the  belligerent  policy  instituted  by  the  Non-Inter- 
course Act  under  Jefferson’s  administration.  The  country  was 
divided  in  feeling : the  Federalists  in  New  England  complained  that  the 
sole  cause  of  all  the  trouble  was  the  operation  of  the  Embargo  and  Non- 
Intercourse  Acts ; the  Democratic-Republicans  of  the  South  and  West 
replied  with  allegations  of  disloyalty  on  the  part  of  the  Federalists,  and 
even  with  charges  of  secret  negotiations  with  England  and  intended 
secession  from  the  Union.  Meanwhile,  William  Henry  Harrison,  Governor 
of  the  New  Indian  Territory — what  was  left  of  the  Northwest  Territory 
when  Ohio  became  a State — created  a diversion  by  defeating  the  recal- 
citrant Indian  chief,  Tecumseh,  at  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  (i8ii). 
Tecumseh  and  his  brother.  The  Prophet,  had  objected  to  the  cession  b}^ 
the  Indians  of  certain  lands  in  exchange  for  flowers  of  speech  and  other 
precious  gifts. 

It  was  impossible  that  this  country  could  long  withstand  its  strained  ' 
relations  with  Great  Britain.  Since  the  seizure  of  its  men  and  ships  began 
in  1803,  more  than  nine  hundred  American  vessels  had  been  taken,  and 
several  thousand  American  sailors  had  been  impressed  into  the  British 
service.  President  Madison  desired  a continuance  of  Jefferson’s  peace 
polic}^  but  he  was  refused  the  support  of  his  own  party.  Henry  Clay  and 
Jolin  C.  Calhoun  forced  Congress  to  action,  and  on  the  i8th  of  June,  1812, 
against  the  pacific  wishes  of  the  President  and  the  bitter  opposition  of  the 
52 


l--i 

9 ^ 

111 


I ' 2 

S aj  .u 


a . « 

1^5 


a ■ 


2 3 

O a -2 


« «S  - 
2 2^ 
■B  3 ^ 


5 a 

d rt 


.=f  ^ 

■■" 

2 ■? 
H o 


H a 


The  battle  of  Lake  Erie  was  fought  September  10,  1813,  at  the  western  end  of  the  lake  between  the  American  fleet  of  nine  vessels,  carrying  fifty-four  guns,  under  Oliver 
Hazard  Perry,  twenty-eight  years  old,  who  had  never  commanded  in  battle,  and  the  British  squadron  of  six  vessels  and  sixty-three  guns  under  Commodore  Barclay.  The  result  was 
a brilliant  American  victory,  every  vessel  of  the  enemy  being  captured.  This  was  the  first  time  in  the  naval  history  of  Great  Britaio  that  she  surrendered  an  entire  squadron  and 
the  triumph  was  the  cause  of  Perry’s  famous  dispatch,  “ We  have  met  the  enemy  and  they  are  ours.” 


THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND 


53 


New  England  Federalists,  tlie  United  States  formally  declared  war  against 
England. 

This  war,  so  far  as  the  events  on  land  are  concerned,  has  not  been 
impartially  treated  by  onr  own  historians.  It  began  disastrously  for  the 
American  forces.  General  William  Hull,  the  Governor  of  Michigan,  made 
such  an  ignominious  surrender  of  Detroit  to  Isaac  Brock,  the  British 
general,  that  he  was  tried  by  court-martial  and  sentenced  to  be  shot. 
Madison  pardoned  him.  Again,  when  the  Americans  under  General  Scott, 
invaded  Canada  by  way  of  the  Niagara  River,  Brock  forced  them  to  retreat. 
On  the  Canadian  border  our  forces  were  defeated. 

But  it  was  different  at  sea.  There  our  infant  navy  of  some  twenty 
ships  of  war  had  more  than  a thousand  formidable  English  vessels  to 
encounter.  Read  this  historical  statement,  as  graphic  as  it  is  succinct  : 
“ Within  an  hour  after  the  declaration  of  war  was  known.  Commander  John 
Rodgers  of  the  ‘ President,’  weighed  anchor  and  was  off  to  catch  the 
nearest  British  ship.  He  chased  a frigate,  which  escaped.  He  crossed  the 
Atlantic,  and  captured  a privateer  and  seven  merchantmen.  He  retook  an 
American  ship  which  had  been  captured  by  the  enemy,  returned  with  his 
prizes  to  America,  and  was  off  again.”  Other  American  ships  were  quite  as 
active.  The  frigate  “ Constitution,”  Captain  Isaac  Hull,  fought  the  British 
frigate  “ Guerriere,”  and  in  half  an  hour  made  her  strike  her  colors. 

Commodore  Stephen  Decatur,  in  command  of  the  frigate  “ United 
States,”  captured  the  frigate  ‘‘  Macedonian,”  and  brought  his  prize  into 
New  York  on  New  Year’s  Day.  The  “ Constitution  ” again,  now  under  Com- 
modore Bainbridge,  attacked  the  British  ship  “Java”  off  the  South  Ameri- 
can coast  and  demolished  it.  People  gave  to  the  “ Constitution  ” the  name 
of  “ Old  Ironsides.”  Besides  the  little  navy,  many  merchantmen  were 
turned  into  privateers  and  went  roving  about  the  seas.  Nearly  three  hun- 
dred British  vessels,  with  three  thousand  prisoners,  were  brought  into  United 
States  ports  before  winter.  There  were  occasional  losses,  but  the  advantage 
was  decidedly  with  the  Americans.  The  disasters  on  land  had  led  the  gov- 
ernment to  collect  a larger  army,  which  was  placed  under  command  of  Gen- 
eral Harrison.  The  British  and  Indians,  who  were  led  by  General  Proctor 
and  Tecumseh,  made  several  attempts  against  Harrison’s  forces.  They 
succeeded  at  Frenchtown,  where  a portion  of  Harrison’s  army  was  placed ; 
but  they  failed  at  Fort  Meigs  and  Fort  Stephenson. 

So  much  of  the  frontier  was  occupied  by  the  great  lakes  that  it  was  of 
the  greatest  importance  to  get  control  of  these.  Captain  Oliver  H.  Perry 
directed  the  building  of  a fleet  on  Lake  Erie,  and  sailors  were  sent  forward 


64 


THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND 


from  the  sea-coast.  He  had  just  completed  nine  vessels,  which  were  at 
anchor  in  Put-in-Bay,  when  he  saw  the  British  approaching.  He  at  once 
moved  out  to  meet  the  enemy,  and  in  a little  more  than  two  hours  was  able 
to  send  this  dispatch  to  General  Harrison,  who  was  in  command  on  the 
“ Sandusky  ” : “We  have  met  the  enemy,  and  they  are  ours;  two  ships,  two 
brigs,  one  schooner  and  one  sloop.” 

Harrison  was  anxious  to  recover  possession  of  Michigan,  which  had 
been  lost  when  Hull  surrendered  Detroit.  With  the  aid  of  Perry’s  fleet, 
which  transported  some  of  his  troops,  he  moved  upon  Fort  Malden.  Proctor 
set  fire  to  the  fort  and  retreated  with  Tecumseh,  meaning  to  join  the  other 
British  forces  at  Niagara.  Harrison  set  out  in  pursuit,  and  Tecumseh  halted 
on  the  river  Thames,  near  Moravian  Town.  Here  a battle  was  fought.  The 
British  were  defeated.  Proctor  escaped,  but  Tecumseh  was  killed.  The 
American  success  restored  Michigan  to  the  country,  and  Harrison  became 
very  popular.  The  war  gave  the  Indians  an  opportunity  which  they  were 
quick  to  seize.  In  the  South  the  Americans  had  taken  possession  of  Mobile, 
which  was  held  by  a few  Spaniards.  It  was  in  territory  claimed  both  by 
Spain  and  by  the  United  States.  The  Spaniards  had  no  power  to  resist,  but 
they  incited  the  Creek  Indians  to  take  up  arms  against  the  Americans.  The 
people  of  the  Southwestern  States  raised  companies  to  fight  an  enemy 
which  was  thus  at  their  very  doors.  The  Creeks  were  a vigorous  tribe,  and 
were  partl}^  supplied  with  arms  and  ammunition.  They  surprised  Fort 
Minims,  and  destroyed  the  garrison.  Then  they  marched  into  the  interior, 
up  the  Alabama  River.  Tennessee  was  prompt  in  raising  men,  and  placed 
Andrew  Jackson  in  command.  He  was  aided  by  pioneers,  who  were  skilled 
in  Indian  warfare.  Other  forces  also  came  from  Georgia  and  Mississippi, 
and  during  the  rest  of  the  year  and  beginning  of  1814  the  Creeks  were  hard 
pushed.  The  whites,  who  hated  the  Indians  and  were  never  sorry  of  an 
excuse  to  get  rid  of  them,  killed  great  numbers  and  showed  no  quarter. 

The  British,  after  the  defeat  which  they  had  suffered  from  the  American 
navy  in  1812,  strengthened  their  Atlantic  squadron.  During  the  summer 
of  1813  they  attempted  to  blockade  the  coast  from  Maine  to  Georgia. 
Congress,  in  turn,  hastened  to  build  new  ships  ; and  the  courageous  priva- 
teers continued  to  fight  pluckily,  and  to  bring  prizes  into  United  States  ports. 
The  Americans  made  a fresh  effort  to  invade  Canada  in  1814.  They  failed 
in  an  attempt  to  retake  Fort  Alackinaw,  but  a movement  on  the  Niagara 
River  was  more  successful.  At  the  battle  of  Chippewa  they  put  the  British 
to  rout,  and  determined  to  move  upon  Kingston  at  the  other  end  of  Lake 
Ontario.  To  do  this,  it  was  necessary  to  have  co-operation  of  the  fleet ; but 


THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND 


55< 


the  fleet  was  not  ready.  The  British  had  been  reinforced,  and  were  strongdy 
posted  at  Queenstown.  General  Scott  was  sent  forward  to  make  observa- 
tion, and  came  upon  the  entire  British  force  drawn  up  at  Lundy’s  Lane, 
opposite  Niagara  Falls.  Here  the  Americans  attacked  the  British,  and 
sent  back  for  reinforcements.  A terrible  fight  followed,  in  which  both 
armies  suffered  severely.  The  British  were  too  exhausted  to  follow  up  their 
victory,  and  returned  to  Chippewa.  Their  principal  officers  were  wounded, 
and  Scott  was  unable  to  return  to  duty  again  during  the  war. 

The  Americans  retreated  to  the  defences  of  Fort  Erie  and  the  British 
besieged  the  place.  The  siege  lasted  through  the  summer,  and  then  the 
British  abandoned  it.  The  x\mericans  destroyed  the  fort  and  returned  to 
their  side  of  the  river.  The  campaign  had  cost  many  lives,  and  neither 
party  had  gained  aii}^  real  advantage.  The  British,  however,  seemed  to  be 
gaining.  In  Europe  Napoleon  had  been  defeated,  and  England  was  thus 
enabled  to  spare  more  men  for  the  war  in  America.  Her  policy  was  to 
march  two  armies  into  the  United  States.  One  army  was  to  descend  from 
Canada,  and  the  other  was  to  land  at  New  Orleans  and  march  northward. 
To  divert  attention  a fleet  under  Admiral  Cockburn  sailed  up  the  Potomac 
and  attacked  the  capital.  There  was  scarcely  any  resistance  ; and  to  their 
lasting  disgrace,  the  British  destroyed  public  buildings,  books,  and  papers. 
Nothing  was  spared  except  the  Patent  Office  and  the  jail.  Another  attack 
was  made  by  a British  fleet  upon  Baltimore.  The  enemy  landed  men  a 
few  miles  below  the  town,  but  the  Americans  gallantly  repulsed  them. 
Then  the  fleet  bombarded  the  forts  which  protected  Baltimore,  and  tried  to 
land  men  in  the  rear  of  the  forts.  The  forts  could  not  reach  the  vessels, 
but  they  drove  back  the  land  forces.  Fort  McHenry  received  the  hottest 
fire  from  the  fleet.  It  was  upon  seeing  the  flag  still  flying  from  the  fort, 
when  the  smoke  cleared  away,  that  Francis  S.  Key  wrote  the  national  song, 
“ The  Star-Spangled  Banner.”  The  fleet  finally  abandoned  the  attempt  and 
sailed  away.  The  British  undertook  to  bring  their  army  from  Canada  to 
New  York  by  the  familiar  Lake  Champlain  route.  General  Macomb,  in 
command  of  a small  force  at  Plattsburgh,  and  Lieutenant  Macdonough,  with 
a little  fleet,  completely  repulsed  the  British  at  the  battle  of  Plattsburgh, 
and  compelled  them  to  return  to  Canada. 

The  army  and  fleet  which  were  to  take  New  Orleans  made  their  rendez- 
vous at  Pensacola.  Louisiana  had  been  admitted  a State  in  1812  and  every 
one  felt  the  importance  of  New  Orleans.  If  the  British  should  obtain  pos- 
session of  it  they  would  control  the  Mississippi  and  the  western  country. 
Andrew  Jackson  was  in  command  of  the  southwestern  forces  and  moved 


56 


THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND 


rapidly  to  the  coast.  The  British  were  driven  back  by  Fort  Bowyer  when 
trying  to  take  Mobile,  and  they  abandoned  Pensacola  when  Jackson  ap- 
proached. They  were  more  intent  on  New  Orleans  and  moved  their  men 
and  vessels  to  Lake  Borgne.  Jackson  hurried  after  them  and  made  vigorous 
preparations  to  defend  New  Orleans.  He  called  upon  eveiybody,  white  and 
black,  to  help  build  fortifications.  He  led  his  men  out  of  the  town  and 
attacked  the  enemy  in  their  camp  at  night.  His  energy  inspired  the 
greatest  enthusiasm.  General  Sir  Edward  Pakenham  and  General  Gibbs 
were  in  command  of  the  British  forces.  Their  men  were  encamped  in  a 
marsh.  They  made  defence  of  hogsheads  ‘of  sugar  while  Jackson  used 
cotton  bales.  The  guns  on  each  side  quickl}^  destroyed  these  temporary 
barricades,  and  Jackson  used  the  black  mud  of  the  river  bank  to  make  earth- 
works. After  a fortnight’s  siege  the  British  determined  to  storm  the 
American  works.  Early  in  the  morning  of  January  8,  1815,  the}^  made 
the  attack.  Jackson’s  men,  trained  to  rifle  shooting  and  aided  b}^  artillery, 
met  them  with  coolness.  A second  attack  was  made,  but  in  less  than  half 
an  hour  from  the  first  assault  the  battle  was  over.  General  Pakenham  was 
killed ; General  Gibbs  was  mortally  wounded  ; a Highland  regiment  which 
had  made  a brave  and  stubborn  assault  was  cut  to  pieces.  The  British 
withdrew,  completely  disheartened.  The  fleet  failed  to  pass  the  fort  which 
guarded  the  town  and  the  whole  expedition  was  abandoned.  The  victory 
was  a complete  one  for  the  Americans  ; yet  the  battle  was  unnecessary. 
Fourteen  days  before  it  was  fought  a treaty  of  peace  between  the  two 
countries  had  been  signed  at  Ghent  in  Belgium.  Neither  side  knew  of  it,  nor 
did  the  news  at  once  reach  the  scattered  vessels  of  the  navy.  These  con- 
tinued their  operations  until  one  by  one  they  learned  that  the  war  was  over. 

The  independence  of  the  United  States  was  securely  fixed  by  the  War 
of  t8i2.  England  withdrew  her  last  claim  to  sovereignty.  The  country 
was  not  only  established  in  its  own  domain,  but  it  had  equal  rights  with 
Europe  on  the  broad  seas.  She  was  henceforth  to  be  one  of  the  great 
powers  of  the  world.  The  last  vestige  of  subjection  to  the  Old  World  dis- 
appeared when  Decatur  sailed  into  the  harbor  of  Algiers  in  June,  1815. 
That  country  had  again  declared  war  upon  the  United  States.  Decatur 
compelled  the  Algerians  to  meet  him  on  his  own  ship  and  give  up  forever 
their  demands.  The  other  Barbary  States  signed  similar  treaties,  and 
American  commerce  was  free. 

The  eventful  administration  of  President  Madison  came  to  a close  in 
1816.  During  that-  year  the  efforts  of  the  government  were  put  forth  to 
complete  the  readjustment  of  the  finances  of  the  conntr}^  after  the  derange- 


THE  BATTLE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

It  is  a curious  fact  tliat  the  most  important  battle  of  the  war  of  1812  was  fought  several  weeks  after  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  peace  between  Great  Britain  ami  the  Lnited 
States,  but,  of  course,  before  the  news  had  reached  tliis  country.  General  Jackson,  at  New  Orleans,  was  attacked  January  8,  1815,  by  the  British  army  under  Lord  Packenham, 
which,  within  the  space  of  twenty-five  minutes,  was  repulsed  with  the  loss  of  its  commander  and  2,500  men,  while  the  Americans  had  only  8 killed  and  13  wounded. 


Daniel 

V^EBSTER 


,)oHN  C. 

CALHOUN 


Henry  Clay 


QUiNCN 


FAMorS  AMFinCAX  STATESMEN 
THE  NINETEENTH 

John  C.  Calhoun,  born  in  1782;  died  in  1850. 

Daniel  Webster,  born  in  1782;  died  in  1852. 

John  Quincy  Adams,  born  in  PS’ ■ died  in  18-48. 


OF  THE  FIRST  HALF  OF 
CENTURY. 

Henry  Clay,  born  in  1777  ; died  in  1852. 

Thomas  Jefterson,  born  in  1743;  died  in  1820. 
Alexander  Hamilton,  born  in  the  AVest  Indies  in  1757 ; 
killed  in  a duel  in  1804. 


THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND 


67 


meiits  produced  by  a state  of  war.  Direct  taxation  was  reduced  one-lialf, 
and  other  changes  were  made.  The  Bank  of  the  United  States  had  expired 
by  the  limitation  of  its  charter  in  i8ii,  and  the  banks  authorized  by  the 
several  States  had  appeared  in  all  parts  of  the  Union.  At  the  close  of  1815 
there  were  one  hundred  and  twenty  of  these  institutions,  with  an  aggregate 
capital  of  $40,000,000,  and  an  emission  of  notes  estimated  at  $200,000,000. 
The  finances  of  the  government  were  then  in  a wretched  condition.  The 
public  credit  had  been  depressed  by  the  unpatriotic  action  of  the  Peace 
faction,  and  from  the  same  cause  there  was  a general  suspension  of  specie 
payments  by  the  banks,  the  notes  of  which  were  greatly  depreciated — 
twenty  per  cent,  in  Baltimore  and  fifteen  in  New  York.  In  this  state  of 
things  the  friends  of  a national  bank  pressed  its  claims  on  Congress,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1816  a second  bank  of  the  United  States  was  chartered  for 
twenty  years  with  a capital  of  $35,000,000,  the  United  States  subscribing 
for  stock  to  the  amount  of  $7,000,000.  The  creation  of  this  bank  gave  an 
impetus  to  general  business.  The  State  banks  were  compelled  to  resume 
specie  payments.  Some  of  them  were  aided  in  their  efforts  by  the  national 
bank,  while  more  feeble  ones  were  finally  obliged  to  close  their  doors.  The 
government  bank  went  into  operation  early  in  1817,  and  receiving  on 
deposit  the  funds  of  the  national  government  it  soon  became  a powerful 
financial  institution.  It  was  so  powerful  that  when  President  Jackson  was 
inaugurated  in  1829  evinced  hostility  to  it,  and  waged  war  upon  it  as  a 
dangerous  institution  until  it  expired  by  the  limitation  of  its  charter,  in 
1836,  which  was  never  renewed  by  Congress.  The  bank  was  re-chartered 
by  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  in  1836,  but  made  a final  suspension 
four  years  afterward,  when,  on  winding  up  its  business,  there  remained  noth- 
ing for  the  stockholders — the  whole  capital  was  gone. 

During  Madison’s  administration  Louisiana  and  Indiana  were  admitted 
into  the  Union  as  States — the  former  in  April,  1812,  and  the  latter  in  De- 
cember, 1816.  There  had  been  warm  discussions  on  the  subject  of  the 
admission  of  Louisiana,  the  Federalists  strongly  opposing  the  measure. 
The  question  of  boundary  between  the  possessions  of  Spain  and  the  United 
States  in  that  region  was  a serious  one.  Eastward  of  the  vast  territory 
which,  under  the  title  of  Louisiana,  had  been  ceded  to  the  United  States, 
and  bordering  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  was  a region  in  possession  of  the 
Spaniards,  known  as  East  and  West  Florida  and  Alabama.  The  western 
portion  was  claimed  by  the  United  States  as  included  in  the  cession,  while 
the  Spanish  authorities  asserted  that  their  possession  extended  to  the 
Mississippi.  With  the  act  for  the  admission  of  Louisiana  was  passed 


58 


THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND 


another  act,  annexing  to  that  State  that  part  of  West  Florida  lying  between 
the  Mississippi  and  Pearl  Rivers,  and  all  eastward  of  that  stream  to  the 
Perdido  was  annexed  to  the  Territory  of  Mississippi.  This  measure  pro- 
duced unpleasant  relations  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  which 
continued  several  years  ; and  the  dispute  was  not  settled  until  after  the 
retirement  of  Mr.  Madison  from  the  Presidency.  The  latter  event  occurred 
on  the  4th  of  March,  1817.  James  Monroe,  his  Secretary  of  State,  was  his 
successor,  having  received  an  almost  unanimous  vote  for  the  high  ofi&ce  by 
the  electoral  college.  Mr.  Monroe  was  conservative,  judicious,  and  con- 
ciliatory, just  such  a man  as  was  then  needed  in  the  place  he  filled. 

It  was  a critical  time  in  the  history  of  the  Republic,  for  the  country 
was  in  a transition  state  from  that  of  war  to  one  of  peace.  The  demand  for 
domestic  manufactures  and  the  high  prices  obtained  for  them  during  the  war 
had  stimulated  that  particular  industry,  and  many  manufacturing  establish- 
ments had  been  nurtured  into  vigorous  life.  When  the  war  was  ended  and 
European  manufactures  came  like  a flood  in  quantity  and  at  low  prices, 
that  industry  was  suddenly  overwhelmed  in  disaster.  Thousands  of  men 
and  women  were  compelled  to  seek  other  employments,  and  many  turned 
.'their  eyes  and  their  hopes  to  the  millions  of  fertile  acres  beyond  the  Alle- 
gheny Mountains,  where  sure  wealth,  or  at  least  a competence,  awaited  the 
tiller’s  industry  and  skill.  Bankrupts  sought  and  found  relief  in  the  pur- 
'Suits  of  agriculture.  Homes  in  the  East  were  left  by  swarms  of  sturdy 
people.  Emigration  flowed  over  the  mountains  in  a broad  and  continuous 
stream  ; and  before  the  close  of  Monroe’s  administration  the  Great  West 
had  begun  its  wonderful  career.  That  administration  was  marked  by  an 
immense  expansion  in  the  material  growth  of  the  United  States.  Four 
independent  States  had  been  created  and  added  to  the  Union — namely, 
Mississippi  in  1817,  Illinois  in  1818,  Alabama  in  1819,  and  Maine  in  1820. 
The  growth  of  “ The  West  ” in  wealth  and  population  has  been  marvelous. 
The  five  great  lakes  are  over  fifteen  hundred  miles  in  aggregate  length,  and 
drain  a region  estimated  to  be  nearly  thirty-six  thousand  square  miles  in 
extent.  The  regions  around  these  lakes  (especially  the  more  western  ones) 
dess  than  fifty  years  ago  were  almost  a wilderness.  In  1830  there  were  less 
vthan  five  thousand  white  people  in  the  vast  region  between  Lake  Michigan 
■and  the  Pacific  Ocean  ; now  there  are  millions,  and  populous  States  exist 
where,  within  a generation  or  so,  the  buffalo  and  the  Indian  hunter  were 
lords  of  the  soil.  On  the  borders  of  these  lakes  now  cluster  great  com- 
mercial centres.  Chicago  is  a model  illustration. 

Monroe  determined  to  know  more  of  the  country  and  the  people  he 


THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND 


59 


was  called  upon  to  preside  over,  and  sixty  days  after  lie  was  seated  in  the 
chair  of  state  he  left  the  capital  for  an  extensive  tour.  He  was  clad  in  the 
undress  uniform  worn  by  officers  of  the  Revolution — a blue  coat  of  domestic 
manufacture,  light  waistcoat,  and  breeches,  high  top-boots,  known  as 
“ Wellingtons,”  and  a cocked-hat.  He  journeyed  to  far-eastern  New 
England,  and  thence  passed  through  the  sparsely  settled  country  of 
Vermont.  He  visited  Plattsburgh,  and  journeyed  through  the  forests  to 
the  St.  Lawrence,  where  he  embarked  for  Lake  Ontario.  He  halted  at 
Sackett’s  Harbor,  Fort  Niagara,  and  Buffalo,  and  then  sailed  over  Lake 
Erie  to  Detroit.  From  that  then  remote  region  he  journeyed  through  the 
woods  of  Michigan,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland,  and  reached  the 
capital  after  an  absence  of  more  than  three  months.  In  the  journey  the 
President  became  acquainted  with  leading  men  of  all  parties,  and  was  cor- 
dially received  everywhere  with  civic  and  military  escorts  and  the  profound 
respect  of  the  people.  The  effect  of  that  tour  was  in  every  way  beneficial. 
Partisan  asperity  was  softened,  and  genuine  patriotism  filled  the  hearts  of 
the  people.  Congress  had  passed  laws,  after  the  year  1808,  prohibiting  the 
African  slave  trade  in  our  country ; but  after  the  war,  the  rapid  increase  in 
the  cultivation  of  cotton  made  the  demand  for  slave  labor  greater  than  the 
supply  and  the  African  slave  trade  was  reopened  on  the  southern  coasts  in 
violation  of  law.  There  was  also  a brisk  interstate  slave-trade  act  estab- 
lished, which  continued  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  late  civil  war.  Before 
the  Revolution  the  unpleasant  situation  of  free  colored  people  among  the 
slaves  on  account  of  their  social  disabilities  had  attracted  the  attention  of 
benevolent  persons,  and  efforts  had  been  made  to  form  a settlement  for  them 
in  Africa.  Nothing  of  great  importance  was  accomplished  until  about  the 
beginning  of  Monroe’s  administration,  when  the  American  Colonization 
Society  was  formed  for  that  purpose,  and  for  sending  to  such  settlements 
slaves  who  had  been  unlawfully  brought  to  the  United  States.  The  society 
founded  the  Republic  of  Liberia  on  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  which,  since 
1848,  has  been  an  independent  state  governed  by  its  own  people. 

At  this  period  several  of  the  Spanish-American  colonies  had  declared 
their  independence.  East  Florida  was  then  in  possession  of  Spain.  A bold 
Scotchman  named  McGergor,  bearing  a commission  (as  he  asserted)  from 
several  of  the  revolted  Spanish  colonies,  was  at  the  head  of  a band  of 
desperate  men,  and  took  possession  of  Amelia  Island,  off  the  northern  part 
of  the  coast  of  Florida.  He  declared  St.  Augustine  in  a state  of  blockade, 
pretended  to  be  engaged  in  the  liberation  of  Florida  from  the  Spanish  3^oke, 
sheltered  privateers  and  pirates,  and  carried  on  a brisk  trade  in  African 


60 


THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND 


slaves,  who  were  smuggled  into  the  United  States.  At  the  same  time  a 
similar  establishment  was  set  np  at  Galveston,  on  the  coast  of  Texas,  for  the 
same  purposes,  to  which  some  of  the  late  followers  of  Lafitte  resorted.  The 
President  determined  to  break  up  these  nests.  Late  in  November,  1817,  a 
body  of  United  States  troops  took  possession  of  Amelia  Island,  and  the 
Galveston  establishment  soon  disappeared  for  want  of  support.  Meanwhile 
a mixed  host,  composed  of  Seminole  Indians  in  Florida  creeks,  who  were 
dissatisfied  with  the  treaty  of  1814,  and  runaway  slaves,  had  commenced 
murderous  forays  upon  the  frontier  settlers  in  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of 
Alabama,  carved  out  of  Mississippi.  It  was  ascertained  that  these  depre- 
dations were  incited  by  British  subjects  residing  in  Florida  under  the 
protection  of  the  Spanish  authorities  there.  General  Gaines  was  sent  by 
onr  government  to  suppress  these  outrages  and  to  remove  any  Indian  from 
the  territory  ceded  by  the  Creeks  to  the  United  States.  His  presence 
aroused  the  fierce  anger  of  the  Indians.  They  flew  to  arms,  and  for  a 
while  Gaines  was  in  great  peril.  General  Jackson  hastened  to  his  relief  in 
time,  with  a thousand  Tennessee  volunteers.  He  arrived  in  December. 

Very  little  was  done  during  the  winter;  but  in  March  (1818)  Jackson 
invaded  Florida,  took  possession  of  the  Spanish  fort  of  St.  Marks,  at  the  head 
of  Appalachee  Bay,  and  sent  the  civil  authorities  and  troops  to  Pensacola. 
At  St.  Marks  Jackson  found  two  of  the  most  active  inciters  of  the  Indians 
to  make  forays  into  the  settlements,  and  they  were  arrested.  One  was  a 
Scotch  trader  from  the  Bermudas,  named  Arbuthnot,  and  the  other  was 
a young  Englishman  named  Anbrister,  twenty-one  years  of  age,  who  had 
borne  a lieutenant’s  commission  in  the  British  service,  and  had  led  the 
motley  gang  of  plunderers  into  Alabama.  The  general  called  these  men 
before  him,  sternly  accused  them  of  their  misdeeds,  which  they  did  not  dis- 
claim, and  ordered  them  to  be  bound  and  tried  by  a court-martial.  They 
were  speedily  found  guilty  and  hanged. 

Jackson  soon  afterward  marched  towards  Pensacola,  where  the  Spanish 
authorities,  who  cherished  the  enemies  of  the  United  States  and  encouraged 
the  Indians  to  make  war  on  the  white  people,  resided.  On  Jackson’s  ap- 
proach the  governor  sent  a protest  against  the  invasion  of  the  country  of  a 
friendly  power,  and  a threat  of  repelling  the  intruders  “ force  by  force.” 
Jackson  pushed  on  to  Pensacola.  The  governor  and  a few  friends  fled  on 
horseback  to  Fort  Barrancas,  where  he  refused  to  give  a guaranty  for  the 
peace  of  the  frontier  or  to  surrender  the  fort.  Jackson  drew  np  a nine- 
pounder  field-piece  and  five  eight-inch  howitzers  before  the  fort,  and  had 
scaling  ladders  ready,  when  a white  flag  appeared  over  the  ramparts,  and  a 


THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND 


61 


surrender  took  place.  Jackson  sent  the  governor  and  the  garrison  to 
Havana,  and  afterward  wrote  : ‘‘  All  I regret  is  that  I did  not  storm  the 
works,  capture  the  governor,  put  him  on  his  trial  for  the  murder  of  Stokes 
and  his  family  and  hang  him  for  the  deed.”  Jackson  was  severely  censured 
in  some  circles  for  these  high-handed  proceedings.  His  justification  was  a 
care  for  the  public  safety,  which  could  not  be  secured  in  any  other  way. 
The  governor  and  the  voice  of  the  people  sustained  him  ; but  it  was  perceived 
that  a general  and  thorough  settlement  of  affairs  on  the  southern  boundary 
was  a pressing  necessity. 

A treaty  was  soon  made  (February  22,  1819)  by  which  Spain  ceded  to 
the  United  States  the  whole  of  the  Floridas  and  the  adjacent  islands.  Just 
two  years  afterwards  that  country  was  erected  into  a Territory  of  the  United 
States,  and  in  March,  1821,  General  Jackson  was  appointed  the  first  gov- 
ernor over  the  newly-acquired  domain.  The  vast  region  known  as  Louis- 
iana, which  was  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  France,  was  divided  into  two 
Territories,  called  respectively  the  “ Territory  of  New  Orleans  ” and  the 
“ District  of  Louisiana.”  The  first  named,  when  it  was  admitted  as  a State 
in  1812,  assumed  the  original  name  of  Louisiana,  and  the  Territory  north 
of  it  received  the  name  of  Missouri.  In  1819  the  southern  portion  of  the 
latter  Territory  was  formed  into  a separate  government  and  called  Arkan- 
sas. At  the  same  time  the  Territories  of  Maine  and  Missouri  were  making 
overtures  for  admission  into  the  Union. 


CHAPTER  VII 


(SECOND  DECADE) 

THE  DECLINE  OF  NAPOLEON’S  SWAY 

\_RSsume. — The  following  links  will  connect  the  reader  with  the  chain  of  events  laid  out  in  the  last 
chapter  devoted  to  Napoleonic  conquest — Jena  and  Auerstadt — Berlin  Decree — Eylau — Friedland — 
The  Surrender  of  Madrid — Napoleon  at  Vienna — Wagram — Divorce  of  Josephine.] 

WAGRAM  meant  more  than  the  terrific  defeat  of  the  Austrian  forces 
on  that  bloody  battlefield.  It  involved,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
divorce  of  the  childless  Josephine,  and  it  resulted  in  the  alliance 
of  the  Corsican  adventurer  ” with  the  proudest  princess  in  Europe — the 
Archduchess  Marie  Louise.  This  woman  was  not  at  all  an  admirable 
character.  Born  in  1791,  she  was  Empress  of  the  French  in  1810;  and, 
when  the  star  of  Napoleon  set,  she  became  Duchess  of  Parma  in  1816,  and 
an  unmourned  corpse  in  1847. 

France  had  now  attained  to  its  greatest  territorial  limits.  Not  only 
had  the  Papal  States  in  Italy  been  annexed  to  the  Empire,  but  also  Hol- 
land, the  Valois,  and  the  better  part  of  the  North  German  coast.  Alliance 
with  Austria,  however,  through  Marie  Louise,  meant  a breach  with  Russia. 
The  peace  concluded  at  Tilsit  with  the  Emperor  Alexander  had  lasted  a few 
years,  when,  in  1811,  the  Czar  renounced  the  Continental  system.  Napoleon 
was  prepared  for  war.  England  aside,  and  beyond  his  reach,  he  had  no 
enemy  on  hand  but  Russia.  All  other  enemies  he  had  overthrown. 

Before  we  tell,  in  brief,  the  story  of  the  invasion  of  Russia,  it  is  neces- 
sary that  we  revert  to  the  Spanish  Peninsula.  From  April,  1809,  Wellington, 
with  an  estimated  force  of  twenty  thousand  English  troops — the  British 
force,  it  is  said,  at  no  time  exceeded  fifty  thousand  men — had  been  trying 
to  wrest  Spain  from  the  iron  grasp  of  Napoleon.  His  progress  was  slow. 
Here  is  how  an  English  author  describes  it  up  to  1812  : “Wellington  had 
advanced  to  the  Spanish  frontier,  when  the  vast  forces  which  Napoleon  had 
62 


THE  DECLINE  OF  NAPOLEONS  SIVAV 


G3 


directed  against  liiin  counseled  a retreat.  At  Busaco  lie  waited  for  the 
French  in  a strong  position,  and  having  there  inflicted  upon  them  a bloody 
repulse,  he  continued  his  retreat  to  the  lines  of  Torres  Vedras.  Thither 
Massena  followed  him.  The  French  general  searched  eagerly  for  some 
point  so  weak  that  he  might  hope  to  force  an  entrance,  but  there  was  none. 
He  waited  for  several  weeks,  expecting  that  supplies  would  fail  and  that 
Wellington  must  come  forth  and  give  battle.  But  the  English  ships  main- 
tained abundance  in  the  camp.  Massena  himself,  obliged  to  depend  upon  a 
wasted  country,  began  to  feel  straitened.  At  length  the  inevitable  retreat 
began.  It  is  memorable  as  the  first  step  in  a backward  movement  which 
was  not  interrupted  till  the  last  invader  was  driven  from  the  peninsula  and 
the  victorious  British  stood  upon  the  soil  of  France.” 

The  substance  of  the  foregoing  has  already  been  given,  and  it  will 
be  remembered  that  it  is  the  partial  report  of  an  English  historian,  which 
is  to  be  taken  with  a liberal  dose  of  salt.  It  has  been  said  by  an 
eminent  authority  that  it  is  impossible  for  one  to  write  an  impartial 
history  of  a war  until  at  least  three  centuries  after  its  termination.  The 
intense  hatred  felt  by  England  toward  Napoleon  and  the  French  could 
not  fail  to  warp  the  judgment  of  those  who  attempted  to  tell  the  story  of 
the  war. 

Napoleon’s  most  powerful  motive  for  war  with  Russia  was  his  wish  to 
compel  her  to  carry  out  the  treaty  signed  at  Tilsit  in  1807.  By  this  time  the 
Emperor  Alexander  had  undertaken  to  close  all  his  ports  to  England  ; but 
this  had  never  been  carried  out  otherwise  than  very  imperfectly.  Napoleon 
rightly  thought  that  he  could  ruin  the  English,  an  essentially  manufac- 
turing and  trading  people,  if  he  could  succeed  in  destroying  their  commerce 
with  the  continent ; but  the  execution  of  this  gigantic  scheme  involved  such 
difficulties  that  only  France  proper  was  really  subject  to  the  commercial 
restrictions.  As  for  Italy,  Germany,  and  the  Illyrian  provinces,  the  appli- 
cation of  the  Continental  system,  though  established  by  imperial  decree,  was 
quite  illusory,  both  from  the  extent  of  the  coast  line  and  by  the  connivance 
and  defective  vigilance  of  those  who  administered  the  districts.  Thus  the 
Emperor  of  Russia  when  summoned  by  France  to  forbid  all  commercial 
relations  with  England,  replied  by  pointing  to  the  exceptions  which  had 
become  almost  the  rule  throughout  Europe.  But  the  real  reason  for 
Alexander’s  refusal  to  comply  with  Napoleon’s  claim  was  his  fear  of  being 
assassinated  like  the  Emperor  Paul,  his  father,  the  cause  of  complaint 
against  whom  was  that  he  had  wounded  the  national  self-esteem  by  his 
alliance  with  France,  and  destroyed  Russian  commerce  by  going  to  war  with 


G4 


THE  DECLINE  OF  NAPOLEONS  SWAY 


England.  Now  Alexander  began  to  see  that  by  showing  deference  and  friend- 
ship to  Napoleon  at  Erfurt,  at  Tilsit,  he  had  already  alienated  the  people’s 
minds,  and  he  had  now  to  fear  that  by  suspending  all  trade  with  England, 
the  only  outlet  which  Russian  nobility  had  for  the  produce  of  their  vast 
estates,  he  would  supply  them  wdth  a fresh  ground  of  complaint.  The 
death  of  Paul  I had  shown  the  danger  to  which  an  Emperor  of  Russia  ex- 
posed himself  by  taking  such  a step,  and  Alexander  had  all  the  more  reason 
to  fear,  that  he  saw  about  him  the  same  officers  who  had  been  about  his 
father,  among  them  Benningsen,  his  chief  of  staff.  Napoleon,  when 
threatening  Alexander  with  war  if  he  did  not  accede  to  his  wishes,  hardly 
took  into  account  the  difficulties  of  his  position.  However,  when  he  learned 
the  reverses  which  he  had  undergone  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  he  seemed  to 
hesitate  about  engaging  in  a war  of  which  the  result  seemed  very  uncertain. 
General  Bertrand  related  how  Napoleon  often  repeated  at  St.  Helena  that 
at  first  his  only  idea  was  to  frighten  the  Emperor  Alexander  into  carrying 
out  the  treat}^  ‘‘  We  were,”  he  would  say,  “ like  two  equally  good  fencers, 
wffio  seem  ready  to  try  conclusions,  but  neither  one  nor  the  other  quite 
liking  it.  They  advanced  by  small  steps,  threatening  with  eye  and  with 
blade,  each  hoping  that  fear  of  crossing  swords  will  make  his  enemy  give 
wa3^”  But  the  Emperor’s  comparison  was  not  exact ; for  one  of  the  fencers 
had  behind  him  a bottomless  abyss  ready  to  engulf  him  if  he  took  a step 
backwards,  and  thus  placed  between  an  ignominious  death  and  the  necessity 
of  fighting  with  some  chance  of  success,  he  was  bound  to  take  the  latter 
course.  Such  was  the  situation  of  Alexander,  made  still  worse  by  the 
intrigues  of  the  Englishman,  Wilson,  with  General  Benningsen  and  the 
officers  of  his  staff.  Still  Napoleon  hesitated,  and  seemed  willing  to  listen 
to  the  prudent  counsels  of  Cautaincourt,  formerly  ambassador  to  St.  Peters- 
burg. He  questioned  French  officers  wffio  had  lived  in  Russia  and  knew  the 
country  and  its  resources.  Among  these  w^as  Lieutenant-Colonel  de  Pouthon, 
one  of  the  engineer  officers  whom  Napoleon  had,  at  Alexander’s  request, 
authorized,  and  even  asked,  to  enter  the  Russian  service  after  the  peace  at 
Tilsit. 

“ In  April  the  French  troops  in  Germany  and  those  of  the  allied  princes 
of  the  Germanic  Confederation  were  set  in  motion,  and  their  march  toward 
Poland  w^as  delayed  only  by  the  difficult}^  of  procuring  forage.  Meanwhile 
the  Emperor  left  Paris,  and  wdth  the  Empress  betook  himself  to  Dresden. 
Pie  was  awaited  there  by  his  father-in-law,  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  and 
nearly  all  the  German  princes,  some  drawn  by  the  hope  of  seeing  their 
states  extended,  others  by  fear  of  displeasing  the  arbiter  of  destiny.  The 


GREAT  FRENCH  SCIENTISTS. 


Ferdinand  de  Lesseps,  the  noted  engineer,  was  l)orn  in  Camille  Flammarion,  born  in  1842. 

1805  and  died  in  1894.  ISl.  Charcot,  neurologist,  was  born  in  1825. 

Louis  Pasteur,  medical  scientist,  horn  in  1822. 


JUSTUS  Von  Liebig 


‘^8£rt  Koch 


Alexander  Von  Humboldt 


GREAT  GERMAN  SCIENTISTS. 

Liebig,  chemist,  was  l»orn  in  1803,  and  died  in  1872.  Koch,  medical  scientist,  born  in  1843. 

Haeckel,  born  in  1834.  Humboldt,  the  greatest  of  descriptive  naturalists,  was 

born  in  1769,  and  died  in  1859. 


THE  DECLINE  OF  NAPOLEON\S  SWAY 


65 


only  king  absent  was  the  King  of  Prussia.  Not  belonging  to  the  Confed- 
eration of  the  Rhine,  he  had  not  been  summoned  to  the  meeting  and  dared 
not  present  himself  without  Napoleon’s  leave.  For  this  he  humbl}^  begged, 
and  when  he  had  obtained  it  hastened  to  make  another  among  the  crowd  of 
sovereigns  who  had  repaired  to  Dresden  to  pay  their  court  to  the  all-powerful 
conqueror  of  Europe.  The  protestations  of  fidelity  and  devotion  which 
were  there  lavished  on  Napoleon  dazzled  him  till  they  made  him  commit 
a most  serious  mistake  in  the  organization  of  the  contingents  which  were  to 
compose  the  Grand  Army.  Instead  of  weakening  the  governments  of  Austria 
and  Prussia,  his  former  foes,  by  requiring  them  to  contribute  the  larger  part 
of  their  available  troops,  whom  prudence  would  have  enjoined  him  to  place 
in  the  advance,  as  much  to  spare  French  blood  as  to  enable  him  to  keep  an 
eye  on  his  new  and  wavering  allies,  Napoleon  not  only  contented  himself  with 
taking  thirty  thousand  men  from  these  Powers,  but  employed  them  on  the 
wings  of  his  army.  The  Austrians,  under  Prince  Schwarzenberg,  were  on 
the  right,  in  Volh3mia ; the  Prussians,  whom  he  placed  under  a French 
marshal,  Macdonald,  formed  the  left ; the  centre  was  composed  of  French 
troops  and  the  contingents  from  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine. 

“ The  faults  of  this  organization  struck  many  intelligent  men,  who  were 
Sony  to  see  the  wings  of  the  Grand  Army  composed  of  foreigners,  who, 
placed  on  the  frontiers  of  their  own  countries,  were  in  a position  to  form,  in 
case  of  a reverse,  two  armies  in  our  rear,  while  our  centre,  consisting  of 
trustworthy  troops,  would  be  deep  within  the  Russian  Empire. 

“ Austria  was  retaining  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  soldiers  ready 
to  act  against  us  in  case  of  our  failure  ; Prussia  had  sixty  thousand  men  over 
and  above  her  contingent.  It  is  astonishing  that  the  Emperor  took  so  little 
heed  of  what  he  was  leaving  behind  him,  but  so  confident  was  he  that  when 
the  King  of  Prussia  begged  him  to  allow  his  eldest  son  to  go  with  him  as 
aide-de-camp,  Napoleon,  although  the  young  prince  would  have  been  valuable 
hostage  for  the  lo^mlty  of  his  father,  would  not  consent.  It  was  a re- 
markable fact  that,  while  the  Austrian  generals  expressed  their  satisfaction, 
the  inferior  officers  and  the  men  regretted  having  to  march  against  Russia. 
In  the  Prussian  contingent  it  was  just  the  contrar3\  The  generals  and 
colonels  felt  humiliated  at  being  obliged  to  serve  their  conqueror,  while  the 
junior  officers  and  the  soldiers  rejoiced  at  the  opportunity  of  fighting  beside 
the  French,  to  show  that,  if  they  had  been  beaten  in  the  Vienna  campaign, 
it  was  not  for  want  of  courage,  but  because  the}^  had  been  badl}^  led.” 

Says  Marbot : “ Besides  enclosing  the  Grand  Army  between  Austria  and 
Prussian  contingents,  Napoleon  had  lowered  the  tone  of  the  French  troops 
5 


66 


THE  DECLINE  OF  NAPOLEON'S  SWAY 


by  mingling  foreign  regiments  with  them.  Thus  the  first  corps,  commanded 
by  Marshal  Davout,  reckoned  on  June  i,  sixty-seven  thousand  men,  of  whom 
fifty-eight  thousand  were  French,  the  balance  consisting  of  Germans, 
Spaniards,  and  Poles.  In  the  second  corps  under  Oudinot,  with  thirt^Mour 
thousand  French,  there  were  one  thousand  six  hundred  Portuguese,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  Croats,  and  seven  thousand  Swiss.  In  Ney’s  corps, 
the  third,  the  proportion  of  French  was  even  smaller,  while  in  the  fourth  and 
sixth  corps,  united  under  Eugene  Beauharnais,  the  French  composed  less  than 
one-half,  the  remainder  being  Croats,  Bavarians,  Spaniards,  Dalmatians,  and 
Italians,  and  of  the  forty-four  thousand  cavalry  under  Murat,  twenty-seven 
thousand  only  were  French.  It  is  not  our  intention  to  name  all  the  forces  at 
Napoleon’s  disposal,  only  to  show  to  what  extent  the  French  element  was 
mingled  with  foreigners,  who  were  themselves  in  the  most  heterogeneous 
confusion  with  regard  to  language,  manners,  customs,  and  interest  ; all 
served  very  badly,  and  often  paralyzed  the  efforts  of  the  French  troops. 
This  was  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  the  French  reverses.  Leaving 
Dresden  on  July  24,  the  Emperor  went  towards  Poland  by  wa}^  of  Dantzig 
and  Prussia  proper.  His  troops  were  crossing  this  country  at  the  same 
time,  and  he  reviewed  them  as  he  came  up  with  them.  The  review  involved 
severe  examination  by  the  Emperor  of  the  regimental  commanders, 
especiall}^  on  the  eve  of  a campaign.  Besides  the  usual  questions  as  to  the 
numerical  strength  in  men  and  horse,  he  used  to  address  a heap  of  unex- 
pected queries  which  people  were  not  always  prepared  to  answer. 

“ For  instance : How  many  men  have  you  had  from  such  a department 
in  the  last  two  years  ? How  many  carbines  from  Tulle  or  from  Chari e- 
ville  ? How  many  Norman  horses  have  you  ? How  many  Breton  ? How 
many  German  ? How  many  men  of  that  troop  have  got  three  stripes  ? 
How  many  have  two  or  one  ? Of  3^our  officers  ? Of  3^our  horses  ? and  so 
on.  These  questions,  always  put  in  a short,  imperative  tone,  accompanied 
with  a piercing  glance,  put  many  colonels  out  of  countenance ; and  yet  woe 
to  him  who  hesitated  to  answer : he  got  a bad  mark  in  Napoleon’s  mind.  I 
had  prepared  myself  so  well  that  I had  an  answer  for  everything,  and  the 
Emperor,  after  complimenting  me  on  the  fine  condition  of  the  regiment, 
would  probably  have  named  me  colonel  and  promoted  M.  de  la  NougarMe 
general.  But  just  then  the  latter,  with  his  legs  wrapped  in  flannel,  had  got 
hoisted  on  his  horse  to  follow  the  movements  of  his  regiment  at  a distance, 
while  I commanded  in  his  place,  and,  hearing  his  name,  came  up  to 
Napoleon  and  irritated  him  b}^  an  untimely  request  on  behalf  of  an  officer, 
a relative  of  his,  who  was  unworthy  of  aiu"  interest.  This  request  raised 


THE  DECLINE  OF  NAPOLEON SWAY 


67 


a storm  of  whicli  I experienced  the  recoil.  Napoleon  flew  into  a violent 
rage,  ordered  tlie  gendarmes  to  expel  the  officer  in  question  from  the  army 
and  galloped  away,  leaving  La  Nougarede  confounded.  So  he  was  not 
made  general.  Marshal  Oudinot,  having  followed  the  Emperor  to  inquire 
his  orders  with  regard  to  the  Twenty-third  Chasseurs,  his  Majesty  replied, 
‘ Let  Major  Marbot  continue  to  command  it.’  Before  I obtained  colonel’s 
rank  I was  to  be  wounded  again,  and  that  severely.” 

The  policy  of  the  Russians  was  to  retire  before  the  irresistible  force  of 
Napoleon,  laying  waste  the  country  as  they  went.  At  an  early  period  in 
the  campaign  it  became  evident  that  Napoleon  had  brought  into  those  thinly- 
peopled  wilds  a host  of  men  so  great  that  it  was  beyond  his  power  to  feed 
them.  It  was  impossible  to  carry  supplies  for  such  multitudes,  and  the 
wasted  country  through  which  their  march  led  yielded  nothing  adequate  to 
their  enormous  wants.  Almost  from  the  beginning  the  soldiers  were  put 
on  half  rations.  Water  was  scanty  and  bad;  the  heat  of  the  weather  was 
intense.  Large  numbers  of  the  hungry  soldiers  strayed  on  marauding  ex- 
peditions and  were  lost.  The  mortality  soon  became  excessive,  and  the 
army  left  ghastly  traces  of  its  presence  in  the  carcasses  of  horses  and  the 
unburied  bodies  of  men  scattered  thickly  along  the  line  of  march.  Before 
they  reached  Moscow  one-half  of  the  men  had  sunk  under  the  hardships 
of  the  journey.  Encouraged  by  the  losses  of  their  enemy,  the  Russians 
determined  to  abide  the  issue  of  a great  battle  before  yielding  Moscow. 
They  took  up  a strong  position  at  Borodino  and  there  awaited  the  French 
attack.  The  battle  which  ensued  was  distinguished  over  all  the  bloody 
encounters  of  that  time  by  its  enormous  slaughter.  At  its  close  one  hundred 
thousand  men  lay  dead  or  mangled  on  the  field.  The  result  was  indecisive, 
both  armies  continuing  to  hold  their  original  positions.  But  the  Russians 
retreated  next  day  and  left  Moscow  open  to  the  invaders. 

The  French  army,  grievously  weakened  by  battle  and  hardships,  en- 
tered Moscow  with  the  rapturous  joy  of  men  whose  dangers  were  over  and 
their  triumph  assured.  But  their  rejoicing  quickly  experienced  a disastrous 
eclipse.  To  their  dismay  they  found  Moscow  utterly  abandoned  by  its 
inhabitants — silent  as  the  city  of  the  dead.  Still  worse  remained.  The 
people  had  resolved  to  destroy  their  ancient  capital  rather  than  suffer  it  to 
be  polluted  by  the  occupation  of  the  French  army.  Arrangements  had 
been  made  to  set  fire  to  buildings  in  every  quarter,  and  care  had  been  taken 
to  remove  every  appliance  which  could  aid  the  extinction  of  the  flames. 
The  invaders,  helpless  and  appalled,  watched  the  unresisted  progress  of  the 
fire ; and  even  Napoleon  admitted  that  this  ushered  in  a long  train  of  dis- 


68 


THE  DECLINE  OF  NAPOLEON'S  SWAY 


aster.  The  Emperor  shrank  from  owning  the  utter  failure  of  his  enterprise. 
He  lingered  among  the  ruins  of  Moscow  during  five  or  six  precious  weeks, 
which  might  almost  have  sufficed  to  place  his  army  beyond  the  perils  of  a 
Russian  winter.  At  length  the  retreat  was  begun,  and  the  great  tide  of 
conquest  rolled  backward.  The  army  was  now  reduced  to  one  hundred 
thousand  men. 

The  greatest  of  Russian  authors,  Count  Tolstoi,  says:  “In  1812  the 
French  marched  as  conquerors  into  Moscow,  and,  instead  of  striking  a 
death-blow  at  the  existence  of  Russia,  the  outcome  was  the  destruction  of 
their  own  army  of  six  hundred  thousand  men.  And,  say  what  we  will,  it 
is  impossible  to  distort  the  facts  to  fit  historical  theory  to  maintain  that  the 
Russians  remained  in  possession  of  the  field  of  Borodino,  or  that  after  the 
French  had  left  Moscow,  they  were  cut  up  in  a series  of  pitched  battles. 
The  whole  course  of  the  invasion  of  1812,  from  the  battle  of  Borodino  till 
the  last  Frenchman  had  recrossed  the  frontier,  proves  to  a demonstration 
that,  in  the  first  place  a victory  does  not  necessarily  lead  to  conquest — is 
not  even  a sure  promise  of  it,  and,  in  the  second  place,  the  power  which 
decides  the  fate  of  nations  is  not  inherent  in  conquerors,  armies,  and 
battles,  but  has  a quite  different  source.  French  writers  have  told  us  that, 
excepting  in  the  cavalry,  the  artillery,  and  the  baggage-train,  everything 
in  the  Grande  Armee  was  kept  in  perfect  order;  they  admit  that  provender 
was  lacking  for  the  horses,  but  that  for  this  there  was  no  remedy,  as  the 
peasants  burnt  their  hay  rather  than  sell  it.  In  fact,  after  the  evacuation 
of  Smolensk  the  war  took  a course  which  cannot  be  accounted  for  by  any 
received  tradition.  The  burning  of  the  towns  and  villages,  the  retreat 
after  each  battle,  the  club  hurled  at  the  foe  at  Borodino,  the  pursuit  of 
skirmishers,  the  guerilla  warfare,  all  were  out  of  the  pale  or  cognizance 
of  law. 

‘ Napoleon,  who  had  struck  the  correct  duellist’s  attitude  at  Moscow, 
knew  this  better  than  any  man,  and  he  never  ceased  complaining  of  it  to 
Kontonzow  and  the  Czar ; but  in  spite  of  his  remonstrances  and  to  the 
shame  which  some  high  personages  may  very  possibl}^  have  felt  at  seeing 
the  country  fight  in  this  fashion,  the  national  bludgeon  was  lifted,  and, 
without  any  question  as  to  good  taste  or  correct  rule,  fell  and  hammered  the 
French  unremittingly,  till  its  stupendous  brute  force  had  utterly  crushed  the 
invasion.” 

To  resume,  the  Russian  army,  in  renewed  strength  and  ampl}^  sup- 
plied, hung  upon  the  flanks  and  rear  of  their  enemy,  and  inflicted  severe 
loss  by  their  unwear^dng  attacks.  Soon  the  snow  began  to  fall  and  a Rus- 


GREAT  FRENCH  STATESMEN. 


Gr6vy,  born  in  1807  ; died  in  1891. 
Gambetta,  born  in  1838  ; died  in  1882. 
Perrier,  born  in  1847. 

Faure,  born  in  1841 ; died  in  1899. 


Guizot,  born  in  1787  ; died  in  1874. 
Thiers,  born  in  1797  ; died  in  1877. 
Lamartine,  born  in  1792 ; died  in  1869. 
Talleyrand,  born  in  1769;  died  in  1820 


THE  RETREAT  FROM  RUSSIA. 


THE  DECLINE  OF  NAPOLEONS  SWAY 


69 


sian  winter  of  exceptional  severity  set  in.  The  retreat  was  henceforth 
attended  by  horrors  unsurpassed  in  human  history.  At  one  time  the  un- 
sheltered wretches  were  subjected  to  cold  thirty  degrees  under  zero.  Thou- 
sands perished  daily  of  hunger  and  cold.  The  River  Berezina  had  to  be 
passed  under  fire  of  the  Russian  artillery.  So  terrible  was  the  disaster 
which  befell  them  there,  that  when  thaw  came  the  Russians  buried  twelve 
thousand  bodies  of  Frenchmen  found  in  the  river.  At  last  the  agonies  of 
this  awful  retreat  came  to  an  end.  Notwithstanding  Marbot’s  statement, 
six  hundred  thousand  fighting  men  had  entered  Russia ; eighty  thousand 
recrossed  the  Niemen.  Of  these  a large  proportion  had  been  late  reinforce- 
ments. But  very  few  who  had  been  with  the  expedition  from  the  beginning 
returned  to  their  homes.  Nearly  all  had  perished  or  remained  prisoners 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

The  miseries  of  this  expedition  stand  alone  in  their  appalling  magni- 
tude. The  political  results  of  the  Moscow  campaign  were  necessarily  of 
extreme  importance.  Napoleon  was  the  abhorred  oppressor  of  Germany  ; 
but  his  power  had  been  such  that  resistance  was  hopeless,  and  Germany 
had  to  suffer  the  humiliation  of  sending  troops  to  fight  under  the  banner  of 
the  tyrant.  But  with  the  destruction  of  the  French  army  hope  dawned  upon 
the  suffering  and  degradation  of  years.  Prussia,  without  loss  of  time,  under 
the  influence  of  a vehement  popular  impulse,  entered  into  an  engagement 
with  Russia  to  aid  her  in  the  war  with  France.  Austria  followed,  not  in- 
considerably strengthened  in  her  disposition  by  an  offer  of  ten  millions 
sterling  from  England.  Sweden  sent  an  army  under  Napoleon’s  old  mar- 
shal, Bernadotte,  to  join  the  allies.  The  Emperor  was  not  yet  wholly  with- 
out friends.  Denmark  adhered  to  him  in  his  days  of  adversity,  as  did 
several  of  the  smaller  German  states.  But  the  balance  was  now  hopelessly 
against  him.  Napoleon  returned  to  Paris,  and  with  a candor  nnusual  in 
his  career,  revealed  the  magnitude  of  the  disaster  which  had  fallen  upon 
him.  The  confidence  with  which  unparalleled  success  had  inspired  the 
French  people  was  too  strong  to  yield  at  once  even  to  this  unparalleled 
calamity. 

When  the  first  paroxysm  of  dismay  had  exhausted  itself,  a belief  in  the 
genius  and  good  fortune  of  the  Emperor  was  found  to  have  survived.  Na- 
poleon applied  himself  with  wonted  energy  to  the  creation  of  a fresh  army 
to  replace  that  which  had  perished  amid  the  Russian  snows. 

The  waste  of  life  during  these  many  years  of  war  was  now  pressing 
hard  upon  the  population  of  France.  The  military  age  was  reduced  to  sev- 
enteen and  the  standard  of  height  to  five  feet  one  inch.  Imperfectly  grown 


70 


THE  DECLINE  OF  NAPOLEON’S  SWAY 


boys,  unfit  to  endure  tlie  fatigue  of  war,  filled  the  ranks  and  speedily 
crowded  the  hospitals.  So  vigorous,  however,  were  the  Emperor’s  measures, 
and  so  well  did  his  people  support  him,  that  in  April  he  had  two  hundred 
thousand  men  ready  to  meet  the  Russians  and  Prussi'ans  on  the  Elbe.  In 
the  campaign  wdiich  followed  victory  visited  the  imperial  standard.  In  the 
battle  of  Lutzen  and  Bautzen  the  advantage  remained  with  the  French  suffi- 
ciently to  make  it  desirable  for  the  Allies  to  seek  an  armistice,  which  Na- 
poleon granted.  But  this  gleam  of  hope  was  delusive.  In  the  next  campaign 
he  sustained,  at  Eeipsic,  a defeat  which  made  his  retreat  to  the  Rhine  indis- 
pensable, and  Germany  was  delivered.  And  now  France  had  to  endure  the 
miseries  of  invasion,  which  she  had  so  long  and  so  ruthlessly  inflicted  upon 
others.  On  the  southwest  Wellington,  with  a hundred  thousand  veteran 
troops,  who  had  come  victorious  out  of  every  battle,  stood  ready  to  enter 
French  territory.  On  the  northwest  the  Allies,  numbering  almost  a million 
of  fighting  men,  were  ready  to  fall  upon  her.  Napoleon,  with  forces  utterly 
inadequate  to  quell  the  storm  which  his  ambition  had  raised,  struggled 
heroically  but  vainly  to  defend  his  throne  against  the  overwhelming  strength 
of  his  enemies. 

The  Allies  forced  their  way  to  Paris.  With  slight  resistance  the  capital 
^delded  to  their  summons.  The  fickle  Parisians  received  them  with  delight. 
Napoleon  was  promptly  abandoned  by  the  courtiers  who  had  lately  lived  in 
his  smile.  He  abdicated  the  throne  after,  it  is  alleged,  an  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  commit  suicide.  The  allied  sovereigns  behaved  generously  to 
tlieir  fallen  foe.  He  was  allowed  to  retain  the  title  of  Emperor ; the  island 
of  Elba  was  assigned  as  his  residence,  and  a sum  of  $500,000  as  his  yearly 
income.  Four  hundred  French  soldiers  were  given  him  as  a body-guard.  He 
set  out  at  once  for  his  new  home.  He  had  to  travel  toward  the  coast  in 
disguise  to  escape  the  fury  of  the  people,  who  were  eager  now  to  have  the 
blood  of  him  who  had  so  long  been  their  idol.  Napoleon  lived  for  nine  or 
ten  months  in  his  little  kingdom — an  islet  sixty  miles  in  circumference. 
He  visited  every  corner  of  his  dominions,  laid  out  new  roads,  built  several 
new  palaces  ; imposed  new  taxes,  to  the  discontent  of  his  subjects  ; had  a sup- 
ply of  water  brought  into  his  capital ; took  possession  of  an  adjoining  island, 
still  smaller  than  his  own.  Soon  these  pursuits  ceased  to  interest  a mind 
accustomed  to  a sphere  of  activity  so  vastly  higher.  Then  he  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  recruiting  of  his  little  army.  It  may  be  supposed  that  Napoleon 
would  scarcely  pause  to  consider  the  proportion  which  his  income  bore  to  his 
expenditure,  and  he  quickly  ran  himself  into  pecuniary  difficulties.  All  the 
while  he  spoke  of  his  political  career  as  closed.  He  spoke  freely  of  the 


THE  DECLINE  OF  NAPOLEONE  SIVAV 


71 


public  affairs  of  Europe,  but  alwa3^s  with  tlie  tone  of  an  uiicoiicerued  spec- 
tator. For  hi  111  now  there  were  no  interests  but  his  faniil}^  his  house,  his 
cows,  his  poultr}^  The  disguise  was  skilfully  assumed,  for  Na23oleoii  was 
uiiequaled  as  a dissembler.  But  ordiiiar}^  credulit}^  could  scarce!}'  trust  in 
the  permaneuce  of  a change  so  violent. 

Meantime  Louis  XVIII  was  on  the  throne  of  France,  the  fickle  Parisians 
having  hailed  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons  with  enthusiastic  lo3^alty. 
At  Vienna  an  august  congress  of  royal  and  highly  distinguished  persons 
sat  down  to  dispose  of  the  enormous  territories  which  had  been  redeemed 
from  the  grasp  of  Napoleon.  The  avaricious  monarchs  wrangled  over  the 
distribution  of  their  vast  spoils,  and  at  one  period  there  was  imminent 
danger  that  their  differences  would  fall  to  be  arranged  by  the  sword.  But 
while  their  debates  were. in  progress  tidings  were  received  which  suspended 
all  disputes.  Napoleon  had  left  Elba  and  w^as  again  in  France.  The 
Emperor  had  unostentatiously  increased  his  army  to  a thousand  men  and 
his  fleet  to  seven  small  ships.  A conspiracy  had  been  formed  in  France  to 
obtain  the  support  of  the  soldiers,  by  whom  the  reign  of  peace  was  regarded 
unfavorably.  When  the  time  was  fully  ripe,  Napoleon  invited  his  principal 
subjects  to  a ball,  over  which  his  mother  and  sister  presided.  Meanwhile 
his  troops  were  embarked,  and  Napoleon,  quietly  disengaging  himself  from 
his  guests,  went  on  board  of  one  of  the  ships.  The  little  fleet  at  once  put 
to  sea  and  steered  for  the  French  coast.  The  restored  government  of  the 
Bourbons  melted  into  air  before  the  awful  figure  of  the  returning  Emperor. 
The  King  and  those  who  remained  faithful  to  him  withdrew  in  haste  from 
Paris.  The  army  everywhere  pronounced  for  the  chief  who  had  so  often 
led  them  to  victory  and  plunder.  Some  of  those  whom  Napoleon  had  raised 
to  eminence,  and  who  had  accepted  office  from  the  king,  hesitated  to  cancel 
their  new  allegiance.  But  Napoleon’s  personal  ascendancy  over  the  men 
who  had  served  him  w^as  irresistible.  Marshal  Soult,  who  was  War  Minister 
to  King  Louis,  after  some  decent  hesitation,  lent  his  sword  to  his  old  chief. 
Marshal  Ney  left  Paris  to  take  command  against  Napoleon,  assuring  the 
king  that  he  would  bring  back  the  disturber  in  an  iron  cage.  No  sooner 
had  he  come  within  the  range  of  Napoleon’s  influence  than  he  yielded  to 
the  charm  and  his  army  followed  him.  The  civil  population  of  France  did 
not  desire  the  renewal  of  strife,  but  the  army  was  wholly  with  the  Emperor, 
and  the  destinies  of  France  were  in  the  hands  of  the  arni}^  Napoleon 
returned  to  the  Tuileries  and  resumed  at  once  his  old  occupation  of  gather- 
ing men  together  to  fight  his  battles  and  be  slain  in  the  interests  of  his 
ambition.  The  allied  monarchs  prepared  to  renew  their  efforts  to  crush  this 


72 


THE  DECLINE  OF  NAPOLEOHS  SWAY 


destroyer  of  the  peace  of  Europe.  They  bound  themselves  to  furnish 
unitedly  about  a million  of  armed  men  and  never  to  rest  from  their 
efforts  while  Napoleon  was  on  the  throne  of  France.  The  troops,  but 
recently  arrived  at  their  homes,  were  at  once  ordered  to  retrace  their  steps 
towards  the  French  frontier. 

In  a few  months  an  overwhelming  force  would  tread  the  soil  of 
France.  But  the  only  troops  immediately  to  resist  Napoleon  were  the 
English  and  Prussian  armies  in  Belgium,  commanded  by  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  and  Marshal  Blucher.  In  numbers  these  forces  amounted  to 
nearly  two  hundred  thousand  men,  scattered  over  a wide  territory,  for  it 
was  uncertain  where  the  attack  of  Napoleon  would  fall.  The  French  army 
was  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  strong — excellent  in  material  and 
equipment.  Napoleon’s  plan  was  to  concentrate  his  own  troops  and  attack 
the  widely-dispersed  Allies  in  detail.  He  burst  upon  the  Prussians — im- 
perfecth^  prepared  to  receive  him — at  Ligny,  and  drove  them  back  with  a 
loss  nearly  double  his  own.  At  the  same  time  Marshal  Ney  attacked  the 
English  at  Quatre  Bras.  The  English  also  were  caught  before  they  had 
time  to  bring  up  their  forces,  but  they  fought  with  their  accustomed 
courage.  Reinforcements  arrived  during  the  battle,  and  after  a desperate 
conflict,  Ne}^  retired  baffled.  Next  day  Wellington  drew  back  his  army  in 
such  a direction  as  to  approach  the  Prussians,  and  took  his  position  near 
the  village  of  Waterloo.  It  was  Napoleen’s  design  to  break  the  English 
by  the  attacks  of  his  superior  'forces  before  the  Prussians  came  up.  It  was 
Wellington’s  design  to  hold  his  position  till  the  arrival  of  the  Prussians. 
The  united  armies  would  greatly  outnumber  their  enemies.  Napoleon  had 
eight}^  thousand  soldiers  present  on  the  field — veterans  on  whom  he  could 
rely.  Wellington  had  sixty-seven  thousand,  of  whom  only  twenty -four 
thousand  were  British  ; the  rest  were  Belgians,  Hanoverians,  and  others  of 
doubtful  quality.  The  fate  of  the  campaign  depended  on  Wellington’s 
ability  to  make  good  his  defence  against  the  superior  forces  which  now  came 
against  him.  The  Prussians  were  long  delayed  by  the  difficulties  of  their 
march,  and  the  battle  had  to  be  fought  by  the  British  army  alone. 

Wellington  had  chosen  his  position  on  the  crest  of  a range  of  gentle 
heights,  with  two  strongly-held  farmhouses  in  his  front.  The  French  occupied 
a corresponding  eminence  on  the  other  side  of  a little  valley.  For  eight  hours 
the  battle  raged.  Napoleon  strove  to  break  the  English  line  of  defence.  In 
close  succession,  furious  attacks  were  directed  against  the  outnumbered 
English.  The  splendid  French  cavalry  rode  around  the  English  squares,  and 
up  to  the  very  muzzles  of  the  muskets.  A powerful  artillery  maintained  a 


WELLINGTON  AT  WATERLOO. 


From  a i)ainting  by  F.  Neuhaus. 

“MAllSHAI.  VOKWARTS.”  liLUCHKK  AT  WATERLOO. 

Field  Marshal  Ilh'iclier,  by  his  daring  and  impetuosity,  gained  the  name  of  “ISIarslial  Yorwiirts”  (l-’orward).  It 
was  his  arrival  on  the  field  of  Waterloo  in  the  nick  of  time,  accompanied  by  his  usual  intrepidity  that  saved  Wellington 
from  defeat  and  ended  the  career  of  Napoleon  I. 


THE  DECLINE  OF  NAPOLEONS  SWAY 


73 


witliering  fire.  Massive  columns  of  infantry — strong  enough,  it  seemed,  to 
cleave  their  bloody  path  through  every  obstacle — ascended  the  slope.  But 
it  was  all  in  vain.  The  English  held  the  ridge,  and  repulsed  every  assault 
with  terrible  slaughter.  At  length  the  cannons  of  the  advancing  Prussians 
were  heard.  Napoleon  moved  forward,  for  a last  attack,  the  splendid 
soldiers  of  his  Guard — every  man  a veteran  who  had  seen  at  least  twelve 
campaigns.  They,  too,  were  driven  back.  And  then  the  wkole  English 
line  moved  from  its  position,  and  advanced  upon  the  shattered  enemy.  The 
Prussians,  in  great  force,  appeared  upon  the  field  and  took  up  the  pursuit. 
The  French  army  fied  in  hopeless  rout,  and  now  indeed  the  rod  of  the 
oppressor  was  broken.  Napoleon  himself  had  to  ply  his  spurs  to  keep  from 
capture.  He  rode  on  during  all  the  hours  of  that  midsummer  night,  with 
such  thoughts  as  may  be  imagined.  He  hurried  to  Paris,  where  he  arrived 
almost  alone. 

Irretrievable  as  all  men  knew  his  ruin  to  be,  he  demanded  that  his^ 
ministers  should  find  him  money  and  three  hundred  thousand  men  to  continue 
the  war.  While  men  were  still  to  be  found  in  that  France  which  he  had  so 
cruelly  wasted,  he  had  no  better  wish  for  them  than  that  they  should  feed 
with  their  lives  the  devouring  fire  which  his  ambition  had  kindled.  But  all 
Frenchmen  were  sick  of  this  murderous  and  now  hopeless  fighting. 
Napoleon  had  to  abdicate  his  throne,  and  then  he  had  to  surrender  himself 
to  an  English  ship-of-war.  He  wrote  to  the  Prince  Regent  that  he  had 
closed  his  political  career,  and  now  came,  like  Theniistocles,  to  throw  him- 
self on  the  hospitality  of  the  British  people.  But  the  British  people  could 
accept  no  such  trust.  The  government  intimated  that  they  could  not  again 
leave  him  opportunity  to  disturb  the  peace  of  Europe.  He  w^as  told  that 
his  place  of  residence  during  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  to  be  St.  Helena, 
an  island  in  the  South  Atlantic,  remote  from  any  inhabited  land.  He 
declared  that  he  would  not  go  there,  and  pointed  to  a refuge  in  suicide.  But 
he  accepted  his  fate. 

The  early  portion  of  his  residence  at  St.  Helena  was  not  heroic.  He 
was  full  of  angry  negotiations  with  the  governor  and  vehement  complaints 
against  all  the  conditions  and  circumstances  by  which  he  was  surrounded. 
Then  he  was  smitten  by  the  disease  of  which  his  father  had  died  and  of 
which  he  himself  had  long  expected  to  die — cancer  of  the  stomach.  He 
suffered  much  pain;  he  was  subject  to  deep  and  prolonged  depression  of 
mind.  And  then  the  conqueror  died. 

The  influence  which  Napoleon  exerted  upon  the  course  of  human 
affairs  is  without  parallel  in  history.  Never  before  had  any  man  inflicted 


74 


THE  DECLINE  OF  NAPOLEON'S  SWAY 


upon  his  fellow-men  miseries  so  appalling;  never  before  did  one  man’s  hand 
scatter  seeds  destined  to  produce  a harvest  of  political  change  so  vast  and 
so  beneficent.  Assuming,  as  he  did,  the  control  of  a people  who  had  filing 
aside  their  government,  it  was  a necessity  of  his  position,  not  merely  to 
defer  to  democratic  influences  at  home,  but  also,  as  opportunity  offered,  to 
extend  their  dominion  among  foreign  states.  It  was  he  who  roused  Italy 
from  her  sleep  of  centuries  and  led  her  toward  that  free  and  united  national 
life  which  she  at  length  enjoys.  It  was  he  who,  by  destroying  the  innumer- 
able petty  states  of  Germany,  inspired  that  dream  of  unity  which  it  has 
required  more  than  half  a century  to  fulfill.  He  was  the  dreaded  apostle  of 
democracy.  When  Washington  died  Napoleon  invited  his  soldiers  to  mourn 
the  man  who  had  fought  for  liberty  and  equality.  It  was  his  intention,  had 
he  effected  a landing  in  England,  to  proclaim  the  sovereignty  of  the  people. 
By  the  institutions  which  he  created,  by  the  doctrines  which  he  was  obliged 
to  profess,  by  the  very  violences  of  which  he  was  guilty,  he  communicated 
to  the  human  mind  an  impulse  which  it  can  never  lose.  And  even  when  he 
became  utterly  and  shamelessly  despotic — when  he  laid  intolerable  burdens 
upon  the  people,  when  he  squandered  their  lives,  when  he  trampled  on  the 
life  of  nations — even  then  his  influence  was  favorable  to  popular  rights. 
For  the  hatred  which  his  despotism  evoked,  and  the  vast  combination  of 
forces  which  it  rendered  necessary,  united  the  people  and  taught  them  to 
know  their  own  strength.  For  a time  the  kings  who  had  conquered  him 
were  irresistible. 

But  his  career  had  created  and  strengthened  impulses  in  presence  of 
which  kings  are  powerless.  Napoleon,  himself  one  of  the  most  selflsh  and 
remorseless  of  despots,  made  the  overthrow  of  despotism  and  the  final  tri- 
umph of  liberal  principles  inevitable  in  all  European  countries. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


(SECOND  DECADE) 
ENGLAND  TO  THE  FRONT 


S^Resume. — The  England  of  the  First  Decade  witnessed  at  home  the  splendid  career  of  Pitt,  involving 
the  Union  with  Ireland,  and,  abroad,  the  series  of  victories  which  Wellington  won  in  the  Peninsula. 
Under  preceding  chapters  in  this,  the  Second  Decade,  the  conclusion  of  the  Napoleonic  wars  and  the 
War  of  1812  are  treated.] 

IN  1810  George  III  became  hopelessly  insane,  and  after  an  interval  of  a 
few  months  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  appointed  regent  of  Great  Britain. 
Preoccupied  with  the  great  wars  it  was  waging  on  land  and  sea,  the 
nation  hardly  took  note  of  this  event,  or  of  the  more  important  one  of  the 
vast  extension  of  its  Colonial  possessions.  England  was,  indeed,  forging 
to  the  front.  Wellington,  having  delivered  Portugal,  assailed  and  captured 
in  quick  succession  the  Spanish  frontier  fortresses  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo  and 
Badajoz.  He  defeated  the  French  at  Salamanca,  and  a few  days  later  trium- 
phantly entered  Madrid.  Then  followed  his  victories  over  Marshal  Soult 
and  the  pursuit  of  the  French  army  on  French  soil.  With  the  utter  and 
terrible  failure  of  Napoleon’s  Russian  campaign,  these  successes  set  the  star 
of  England  in  the  highest  ascendant. 

There  was,  above  all,  however,  the  more  peaceful  progress  making  in 
the  development  or  acquisition  of  the  great  British  colonial  empire.  First 
ill  importance  was  Australia,  the  largest  island  on  the  globe — nearly  2,000 
miles  wide  one  way  and  2,500  the  other.  Within  two-thirds  of  the  century 
its  eastern  and  southern  shores  have  been  colonized  by  English  people,  who 
now  number,  with  those  of  Tasmania,  about  3,000,000.  In  1788  there  was 
only  a penal  convict  settlement  at  Sydney,  that  part  of  the  coast  having 
been  discovered  by  Captain  Cook  in  1770.  Some  twenty  years  of  petty 
troubles  passed  over  the  infant  settlement  of  New  South  Wales  ; then,  in 
1815,  the  inland  pastures  were  explored  and  opened  to  the  enterprise  of 

75 


76 


ENGLAND  TO  THE  FRONT 


sHeep-breeders  for  the  growth  of  merino  wool,  and  so,  to  anticipate,  this 
first  Australian  colony  gave  birth  successively,  in  1825,  lesser  island 

colony  of  Tasmania,  at  first  called  Van  Diemen’s  Land;  then  to  Victoria, 
in  1850,  though  Melbourne,  the  capital,  was  founded  fifteen  years  before, 
and,  nine  years  later,  to  Queensland. 

Then  there  was  the  immense  stretch  of  South  African  territory,  on 
which  the  gaze  of  the  world  is  now  fastened.  There  was  doubtless  some 
political  justification  for  the  British  occupation  of  Cape  Colony  during  the 
wars  of  the  French  Revolution  and  Empire.  In  1795  a Dutch  revolution- 
ary party  had  revolted  against  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  England’s  inter- 
vention then  saved  the  Cape  from  becoming  a starting-point  for  French 
attacks  upon  her  trade.  In  1806,  at  the  height  of  the  European  danger 
from  Napoleon,  the  Cape  was  again  occupied  by  an  English  force.  It  was 
formally  ceded  to  Great  Britain  by  the  King  of  the  Netherlands  in  1815. 
In  a special  chapter,  devoted  to  the  Boer  war,  we  shall  carefully  follow  the 
fortunes  of  the  several  South  African  colonies. 

With  the  occupation  of  Paris,  Wellington’s  service  in  the  field  came  to 
an  end,  but  as  Comniander-in-Chief  of  the  Allied  Armies  in  France,  his 
moderation,  sound  judgment,  and  impartiality  did  much  to  ensure  lasting 
peace  in  Europe.  While  he  insisted  on  restoration  of  the  art  treasures 
which  the  French  armies  had  plundered  from  the  principal  Continental 
cities,  he  prevented  the  destruction  of  national  monuments  which  had  been 
erected  in  commemoration  of  French  victories  ; and  he  strenuously  and 
successfully  opposed  the  demand  of  the  allies  of  Great  Britain  for  a large 
cession  of  French  territory.  His  opinion  on  this  subject  is  well  worth 
repeating.  After  pointing  out  that  France  would  never  acquiesce  in  the 
loss  of  any  of  her  provinces,  and  that  their  forcible  annexation  would  lead 
to  a state  of  armed  neutrality  rather  than  a general  peace,  he  remarked : 
“ If  we  take  this  large  cession,  we  must  consider  the  operation  of  war  as 
deferred  till  France  shall  find  a suitable  opportunity  of  endeavoring  to 
regain  what  she  lost ; and  after  having  wasted  our  resources  in  the  main- 
tenance of  overgrown  military  establishments  in  time  of  peace,  we  shall 
find  how  little  the  cession  we  shall  have  acquired  will  be  against  a national 
effort  to  regain  them.’^ 

Wellington  was  also  instrumental  in  adjusting  the  claims  brought 
against  the  French  nation  on  account  of  the  cost  of  the  late  war,  and  the 
damage  done  to  public  and  private  property  by  the  French  troops.  The 
commissioners  appointed  to  investigate  these  claims  were  unable  to  agree, 
and  the  Duke  undertook  the  office  of  arbitrator ; the  result  being  that  the 


ENGLAND  TO  THE  FRONT 


77 


total  charge  against  France  was  reduced  from  eight  hundred  millions  of 
francs  to  two  hundred  and  forty  millions.  As  Comniander-in-Chief  of  the 
army  of  occupation,  he  took  care  that  the  expense  of  maintaining  the 
troops,  which  fell  upon  the  French  people,  should  be  kept  within  reasonable 
limits  ; and  so  soon  as  he  thought  it  prudent  to  do  so  he  advised  the  Allied 
sovereigns  first  to  diminish  the  force  under  his  orders,  and  afterward  to 
withdraw  it,  two  years  before  the  date  fixed  by  the  treaty.  Let  ns  now  quote 
from  Lord  Roberts  : 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  say  that  like  most  people  who  do  good  to 
their  enemies,  Wellington  was  treated  with  ingratitude  by  the  nation  he 
endeavored  to  befriend.  On  the  occasion  of  his  giving  a ball,  in  June,  i8i6, 
his  house  in  the  Champs-Elysees  was  set  on  fire,  oil  and  gunpowder  having 
previously  been  placed  in  the  cellar.  Fortunately  the  fire  was  discovered  in 
time  to  prevent  an  explosion.  In  February,  i8i8,  his  life  was  attempted 
by  Cantillon,  an  old  non-commissioned  officer  of  the  Imperial  Army. 
Napoleon  was  base  enough  to  leave  a legacy  of  ten  thousand  francs  to  this 
miscreant,  in  acknowledgment  of  the  service  which  he  had  endeavored  to 
render  to  France  by  shooting  at  the  Duke  of  Wellington  ; and  a quarter  of 
a century  later,  Napoleon  III  caused  search  to  be  made  at  Brussels  for  Can- 
tillon’s  heirs,  in  order  that  the  money  might  be  handed  over  to  them.  The 
Court,  the  Ministers,  and  the  chief  officers  of  the  French  army  behaved 
towards  Wellington  with  a coldness  which  sometimes  amounted  to  dis- 
courtesy. On  one  occasion,  when  he  was  attending  a levee,  the  Marshals 
present  barely  acknowledged  his  greetings,  and  after  a short  interval  walked 
awa}^  from  him  in  a body.  Louis  XVIII  had  grace  enough  to  apologize  for 
this  act  of  rudeness,  whereupon  Wellington  made  the  apt  reply  : ‘ Your 
Majesty  need  not  distress  yourself.  It  is  not  the  first  time  they  have  turned 
their  backs  on  me.’ 

After  attending  the  Congress  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  October,  i8i8,  and 
arranging  for  the  evacuation  of  France  by  the  Allied  armies  on  the  ist  of 
the  following  month,  Wellington  returned  to  England  in  December  and  took 
up  the  appointment  of  Master-General  of  the  Ordnance,  with  a seat  in  the 
Cabinet.  In  July,  1815,  Parliament  had  voted  him  an  additional  grant  of 
^200,000  for  his  services  in  the  Netherlands  ; and  before  he  left  France  he 
was  given  the  rank  of  Marshal  in  the  Austrian,  Prussian,  and  Russian 
armies,  besides  other  marks  of  distinction  too  numerous  to  mention.  This 
may  be  regarded  as  the  culminating  point  of  Wellington’s  career.  From 
December,  1818,  until  June,  1846,  he  devoted  himself  almost  entirely  to 
political  affairs.  From  the  latter  date  up  to  his  death  in  1852,  the  only 


78 


ENGLAND  TO  THE  FRONT 


important  public  office  wliicli  he  held  was  that  of  Commaiider-in-Chief,  to 
which,  on  the  death  of  Lord  Hill,  in  1842,  he  had  been  appointed  for  life 
by  patent  under  the  Great  Seal.” 

The  conquests  of  Napoleon  had  marvelously  disordered  the  territorial 
arrangements  of  Europe.  When  the  revolution  began  there  were  between 
three  and  four  hundred  sovereign  powers  on  the  Continent.  There  were  a 
few  great  and  powerful  states,  and  a multitude  of  very  small  ones — each 
with  its  miniature  court,  and  its  petty  army,  and  its  despotic  code  of  laws 
emanating  from  the  will  of  the  prince,  and  conflicting  vexatiously  with  the 
codes  enacted  by  surrounding  princes.  In  Africa,  it  is  said,  the  traveler 
meets  a new  language  in  every  sixty  miles  of  his  progress.  In  Europe  he 
had  to  encounter,  within  a similar  range,  the  annoyances  resulting  from  a 
change  of  sovereign  and  a change  of  law.  Over  some  of  the  fairest  por- 
tions of  the  Continent  there  still  prevailed  that  same  inconvenient  and 
wasteful  method  of  government  which  existed  in  England  in  the  da^^s  when 
there  were  seven  kingdoms  on  her  soil.  Italy  was  one  of  the  countries  thus 
unfortunately  circumstanced.  Italy  had  once  been  firmly  compacted 
under  the  strong  rule  of  Ancient  Rome ; but  when  Rome  fell,  every  bar- 
barian chief  possessed  himself  of  what  he  could,  and  Italy  sank  into  a 
multitude  of  petty  states.  Charlemagne,  for  a space,  recombined  the  frag- 
ments, or  most  of  them,  under  his  own  rule.  The  tribune  Rienzi  dreamed 
of  uniting  Italy  in  a great  federal  republic,  of  which  Rome  should  be  the 
head. 

But  the  eighteenth  century  closed  upon  Italy  still  disintegrated  and 
powerless  for  her  own  defence.  Piedmont  and  Naples  were  independent 
kingdoms.  Venice,  the  oldest  state  in  Europe,  although. grievousl}^  decayed, 
still  maintained  her  precarious  existence.  Austria  ruled  in  Lombardy. 
The  Pope  exercised  paternal  sway  over  two  million  miserably  governed 
subjects.  Genoa  was  ruled  by  an  aristocracy.  There  were  several  duchies  ; 
and  some  of  the  free  cities  which  sprang  up  so  vigorously  in  the  twelfth 
century  now  swelled  out  into  little  states.  There  was  no  federation.  The 
pett}^  monarchs  could  enter  into  treaties  to  unite  their  toy  armies  for  mutual 
defence,  but  there  was  no  organization  for  that  purpose,  and  Italy  was  prac- 
tically at  the  mercy  of  any  strong  invader. 

Germany  was  composed  of  nearly  three  hundred  independent  powers ; 
there  were  princes  civil  and  princes  ecclesiastical ; there  were  electors ; 
there  were  free  towns  ; there  were  some  kings  of  secondary  importance ; 
there  were  also  the  great  Austrian  and  Prussian  monarchies.  Over  this 
constituency  the  King  of  Austria  exercised  the  authority  of  emperor,  rep- 


ENGLAND  TO  THE  ERONT 


79 


resenting  in  a shadowy  way  the  old  Caesars,  whose  dignities  he  was  sup- 
posed to  have  inherited.  Each  of  the  petty  states  might  be  required  to 
contribute  troops  for  the  defence  of  the  empire.  But  it  was  only  from  the 
more  considerable  members  of  the  federation  that  help  could  be  obtained. 
The  revenues  of  the  smaller  states  could  do  little  more  than  support  the 
outlays  of  the  sovereign  with  his  train  of  unprofitable  and  burdensome 
dependants.  Austria  had  for  centuries  predominated  in  Central  Europe. 
Her  population  numbered  twenty-five  millions.  In  addition  to  her  German 
territory  she  possessed  Flanders,  Lombardy,  Hungary,  and  the  Tyrol. 
Prussia  had  as  yet  scarcely  been  admitted  to  the  rank  of  a first-class  power. 
Her  population  was  only  eight  millions.  But  her  military  organization  was 
effective  ; the  victories  which  she  gained  under  the  great  Frederick  had 
given  her  confidence  in  her  own  prowess  ; strong  national  impulses  pointed 
to  aggrandizement  at  the  cost  of  her  weaker  neighbors.  The  national 
existence  of  Poland  had  recently  been  subverted  by  the  arms  of  Russia, 
Austria,  and  Prussia,  and  her  territory  divided  among  conquerors.  She  had 
not  relinquished  her  earnest  desire  for  unity  and  independence,  nor  for  many 
years  was  she  to  desist  from  heroic  efforts  to  regain  them.  Holland  was 
leading  a quiet  existence  under  a republican  form  of  government.  She  had 
long  ceased  to  attempt  a prominent  part  in  European  politics.  The  days 
were  passed  when  Holland  contested  the  maritime  supremacy  of  England. 
Peacefully  and  unostentatiously  she  now  sought  greatness  in  the  more 
profitable  paths  of  commercial  enterprise.  Her  artisans  were  exceptionally 
industrious  and  ingenious.  The  labor  of  her  careful  peasantry  was  over- 
coming the  difficulties  of  an  uncongenial  climate  and  an  unproductive  soil, 
and  drew  abundantly  from  those  discouraging  plains  the  elements  of  solid 
and  generally  diffused  material  well-being.  Her  neighbor,  Belgium,  after 
centuries  of  vicissitude,  was  prospering  beside  her  under  the  rule  of  Austria. 
Switzerland  was  a federation  of  twenty-two  little  republics.  Her  whole 
population  was  only  two  million.  For  two  centuries  she  had  cherished  her 
independence,  and  from  a position  of  well-established  neutrality  looked 
serenely  down  upon  the  contests  which  desolated  her  neighbors.  Over 
states  thus  circumstanced  the  tide  of  French  invasion  rolled  for  nearl}"  a 
quarter  of  a century.  What  were  the  changes  produced  on  the  political 
arrangements  of  the  multitudinous  and,  for  the  most  part,  fragile  sover- 
eignties thus  rudely  dealt  with  ? Italy  underwent  political  changes  of  the 
most  sweeping  and,  in  their  results,  of  the  most  beneficial  character. 

Napoleon  contemplated  from  a very  early  period  the  combination  of  all 
the  Italian  states  into  one.  He  began  with  the  creation  of  a strong 


80 


ENGLAND  TO  THE  FRONT 


republic  in  the  north,  overcoming  the  objections  of  the  petty  states  by  the 
declaration  that  he  was  laying  the  foundation  of  a united  Italy.  He  became 
the  chief  of  that  republic,  and  in  due  time  the  neighboring  states  were 
forcibly  absorbed.  Even  the  territories  of  the  Pope  shared  the  common  lot. 
In  the  end  Napoleon  reigned  as  king  over  the  larger  portion  of  the 
peninsula;  and  his  brother-in-law,  as  King  of  Naples,  governed  nearly  all 
the  rest.  The  dream  of  Italian  unity  was  for  a brief  space  almost  fulfilled. 
Unoffending  Holland  was  created  into  a monarchy,  and  Louis  Bonaparte 
became  its  king.  When  Louis,  unable  to  submit  longer  to  the  despotic 
harshness  of  his  brother,  resigned  his  crown,  Holland  was  at  once  annexed 
to  France.  Belgium  also  was  overrun  in  the  early  years  of  the  revolution, 
and  held  to  the  close  as  a French  possession. 

In  Germany  Napoleon  took  advantage  of  internal  jealousies  to  break 
off  from  the  empire  states  with  a population  of  sixteen  millions,  and  to 
combine  them  anew  into  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  under  his  own 
protection,  and  available  for  his  own  purposes.  He  reduced  the  number  of 
German  governments  from  three  hundred  down  to  thirty.  Prussia  had  been 
despoiled  of  half  her  territory — portions  of  which  Napoleon  bestowed  upon 
his  German  allies  ; some  he  retained  and  some  he  erected  into  Kingdom  of 
Westphalia,  for  the  benefit  of  his  brother  Jerome.  Austria  had  been  plun- 
dered in  like  manner  after  the  campaign  of  Wagram,  and  the  spoils 
similarly  disposed  of.  That  part  of  Poland  which  belonged  to  Prussia  was 
taken  away  from  her,  and,  under  the  title  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Warsaw, 
was  bestowed  upon  the  King  of  Saxony.  Switzerland  had  been  subjugated 
while  Napoleon  was  still  first  Consul.  He  forcibly  imposed  on  her  a new 
constitution,  and  held  her  in  a tributary  position,  guaranteeing,  however, 
her  independence  against  all  others.  The  great  inonarchs  who  had  over- 
thrown Napoleon  had  now  to  bring  order  out  of  the  territorial  confusion 
which  he  had  created,  and  to  make  restitution  to  a crowd  of  dethroned 
princes.  It  was  a work  of  unexampled  difficulty  ; on  its  wise  performance 
hung  the  welfare  of  generations.  Unhappily  the  inonarchs  who  then  held 
the  destinies  of  Europe  in  their  hands  did  not  rise  to  the  greatness  of  their 
opportunity.  It  was  not  a reconstruction  of  Europe  which  the}^  sat  down  to 
accomplish,  with  a wise  regard  to  the  wants  of  the  European  people. 

Tliey  met  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  a horde  of  bereaved  princes  They 
met  in  the  spirit  of  a supreme  regard  to  personal  interests.  Their  avowed 
object  was  to  restore  to  Europe,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the  political  arrange- 
ments Avliich  existed  before  the  war.  They  took  no  account  of  the  vast 
changes  which  the  war  had  caused.  They  were  blind  to  the  new  impulses 


ENGLAND  TO  THE  FRONT 


81 


whicli  had  risen  to  unsuspected  strength,  and  were  henceforth  to  shape  out 
the  destinies  of  Europe.  On  every  petty  throne  they  would  reseat  the 
petty  despot  who  had  occupied  it  before.  Certain  weak  states  which  lay 
near  France  were  strengthened,  the  better  to  withstand  the  encroachments 
which  that  unquiet  power  might  be  expected  to  attempt  when  her  strength 
returned.  Otherwise  the  wornout  system  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  to 
be  faithfully  reproduced.  A reconstruction  of  Europe  on  this  principle 
could  not  be  lasting ; but  it  cost  Europe  many  years  and  much  blood  to 
undo  it.  Absolute  monarchy  was  about  to  enter  upon  a period  of  swift, 
almost  of  sudden  decay.  But  its  splendors  were  yet  untarnished.  Indeed, 
absolute  power  never  seemed  so  far  beyond  reach  of  decay  as  when  four  or 
five  men  sat  down  in  Vienna  to  regulate  the  political  destinies  of  the 
European  people — no  other  thought  than  that  of  submission  presenting 
itself  to  any  of  the  victims  of  their  arrangements.  The  success  of  their 
arms  had  made  the  allied  monarchs  supreme  in  Europe.  Neither  they 
themselves  nor  the  European  people  questioned  their  right  to  dispose  of 
territories  and  races  according  to  their  own  pleasure.  They  had  at  the 
outset  to  deal  with  France,  and  they  did  so  justly.  France  was  at  one 
stroke  divested  of  territories  which  held  a population  of  thirt3Awo  millions 
— the  enormous  gains  of  Napoleon’s  unscrupulous  aggressions.  All  that 
France  had  unlawfully  acquired  she  was  now  compelled  to  relinquish.  It 
was  the  design  of  the  Allies  that  she  should  resume  the  identical  dimensions 
of  1792  ; and  this  substantially  was  effected,  although  several  unimportant 
modifications  in  the  direction  both  of  increase  and  diminution  left  her  to  a 
small  extent  a gainer.  Italy  awoke  from  her  dream  of  unity.  Lombard}^ 
was  given  back  to  Austria.  Venice,  humbled  and  indignant,  was  added  to 
the  gift.  The  Pope  resumed  his  temporal  sovereignt3^  The  Bourbons 
quickly  regained  the  throne  of  Naples.  The  dukes  swarmed  back  to  their 
paltry  thrones.  Genoa  was  handed  over  to  Piedmont,  amid  the  vehement 
but  unheeded  remonstrance  of  the  people  thus  transferred. 

Italy  was  once  more  a mass  of  incohering  fragments.  But  the  desire 
for  unity,  although  frustrated  for  half  a century,  was  already  enkindled  in 
strength  sufficient  to  compel  fulfilment.  Germany,  too,  received  back  her 
innumerable  sovereignties.  Only  they  were  knit  together  in  a league,  of 
which  Austria  and  Prussia  were  the  supreme  directors.  The  states  forming 
this  confederation  were  bound  to  afford  mutual  support  against  foreign 
attack.  Austria,  as  the  most  powerful  member  of  the  union,  naturally 
looked  to  be  its  head.  But  the  rising  strength  and  ambition  of  Prussia 
involved  a perilous. competition  for  the  coveted  supremacy.  Holland  and 


82 


ENGLAND  TO  THE  ERONT 


Belgium  were  crushed  together  into  a kingdom.  Hanover,  for  the  possession 
of  which  Prussia  sinned  and  suffered  so  grievously,  was  restored  to  Eng- 
land. Norway  was  annexed  to  Sweden.  Switzerland  had  a constitution 
bestowed  upon  her  royal  hands,  and  having  meekly  accepted  it,  resumed 
her  independence.  The  old  partition  of  Poland  was  confirmed  with  some 
modifications  in  the  interest  of  Russia,  and  a people  numbering  fifteen 
millions  were  formally  handed  over  to  Russia,  Austria,  and  Prussia.  The 
poor  King  of  Saxony  had  a hard  fate.  He  had  adhered  too  faithfully  to 
the  falling  emperor,  and  thus  in  the  congress  he  had  few  friends.  Prussia 
claimed  the  whole  of  his  territory.  Ultimately  she  consented  to  accept 
something  less  than  the  half  of  her  demand.  England  came  with  credit 
and  dignity  out  of  this  ignoble  contest  over  the  spoils  of  the  war.  She  gave 
back  to  France  and  her  allies  all  the  colonies  which  she  had  taken,  with 
some  inconsiderable  exceptions.  She  asked  nothing  for  herself  but  the 
glor}^  of  having  contributed  to  the  deliverance  of  Europe.  At  length  the 
settlement  was  complete.  The  monarchs  were  able  to  cherish  the  pleasing 
conviction  that  they  had  created  a perfect  and  enduring  political  equi- 
librium. 

The  European  powers  were  now  so  happily  balanced  that  permanent 
tranquillity  would  gladden  the  tormented  nations.  Alas  ! they  omitted  from 
their  calculations  one  most  vital  factor,  they  took  no  thought  of  the 
European  people.  Their  ingeniously  devised  system  was  abhorred  by  the 
people  who  were  required  to  live  under  it.  For  half  a century  to  come 
many  of  the  nations  had  to  give  their  energies  to  the  overthrow  of  the 
balance  which  the  Congress  of  Vienna  established. 

The  British  Empire  in  the  East,  like  that  of  Napoleon  I in  Europe, 
.could  be  maintained  only  by  constant  fighting ; fighting  was  the  price  paid 
for  the  empire,  and  to  stand  still  was  to  retrograde.  Tippoo  Sahib  broke 
his  faith  by  intriguing  against  the  English,  both  with  the  French  and  with 
native  princes  ; his  bad  faith  cost  him  his  crowm  and  his  life.  In  May,  1799, 
Seringapatam  was  captured  and  Tippoo  slain.  The  Hindu  dynasty,  dis- 
placed by  Hyder  Ali,  was  restored  and  the  administration  carried  on  most 
successfully  for  the  youthful  Rajah  by  Colonel  Wellesley  (afterward  Duke 
of  Wellington).  In  the  famous  battle  of  Assaye,  1803,  he  defeated  the 
Mahrattas  under  Scindia  ; and  the  victories  of  Lord  Lake,  in  northern 
India,  extended  considerably  the  dominions  of  the  company.  The  policy 
of  the  Marquis  V/ellesley  was,  however,  too  aggressive  to  suit  the  views  of 
the  East  India  Company,  and  he  was  superseded  by  Lord  Cornwallis,  who 
returned  to  India  only  to  die.  Lord  Minto  succeeded,  1806-13.  Nothing 


ENGLAND  TO  THE  FRONT 


83 


of  much  importance  occurred  until  the  Marquis  of  Hastings  became 
governor-general  (1813-23).  He  waged  war  against  the  Pendaris,  who 
were  entirely  suppressed.  He  had  previously  defeated  the  Gurkhas,  and 
before  the  close  of  his  brilliant  administration  he  made  the  British  power 
supreme  in  India.  The  civil  administration  of  the  Marquis  of  Hastings 
was  directed  to  the  amelioration  of  the  moral  condition  of  the  people 
of  India. 


CHAPTER  IX 


(SECOND  DECADE) 

CONTINENTAL  EUROPE  AFTER  NAPOLEON’S  DOWNFALL 


[Resmne. — We  have  seen  how  the  ambitious  projects  of  Napoleon  affected  the  destinies  of  all  the  leading 
nations  of  the  world.  With  his  exile  to  St.  Helena,  another  and  giant  figure  appeared  to  control  the 
affairs  of  Europe — Metternich.] 

WHEN  Waterloo  had  completed  the  overthrow  of  Napoleon,  the  master 
mind  in  Europe  was  Prince  Metternich,  then  some  forty  years  of 
age,  who  quietly  but  very  firmly  proceeded  to  direct  the  policy  of 
the  Continent  during  the  next  -thirty  odd  years.  Metternich’s  “ system  ” 
differed  in  most  of  its  essentials  from  that  of  the  great  conqueror,  who  at 
heart  was  a despot  and  who  terrorized  over  the  supporters  of  the  pre-existing 
system.”  The  despotism  of  Metternich,  not  less  actual,  used  as  its  willing 
instruments  these  very  supporters  upon  whose  necks  Napoleon  had  placed 
his  heel.  “ He  was,”  says  Colonel  Malleson,  “ as  a Jesuit  succeeding  an 
Attila ; and  when,  after  enduring  it  long,  the  peoples  of  Europe  realized  its 
result  in  the  crushing  of  every  noble  aspiration,  of  every  attempt  to  secure 
leal  liberty,  we  cannot  wonder  that  they  should  have  asked  one  another 
whether  it  was  to  obtain  such  a system  that  they  had  combined  to  overthrow 
Napoleon.”  The  peoples,  who,  led  in  1813  by  the  kings  upon  whom 
Napoleon  had  trampled,  had,  after  completing  their  mission,  trusted  their 
leaders,  rose  in  1848  to  rid  themselves  of  these  very  leaders.  During  the 
earlier  epoch  Metternich  had  been  the  leading  spirit  to  inspire  the  uprising ; 
in  the  later,  he  was  the  first  victim. 

The  career  of  this  remarkable  statesman,  like  our  history  of  the  cen- 
tury, divides  itself  naturally  into  ten  epochs  : The  first,  from  his  birth  (1773) 
to  the  embassy  to  Paris  in  1806 ; the  second,  from  1806  to  the  outbreak  of 
the  war  in  1809  ; the  third,  from  the  war  of  1809  to  the  retreat  from  Moscow  ; 
the  fourth,  from  the  winter  of  1812  to  the  armistice  of  Pleiswitz  ; the  fifth, 
84 


CONTINENTAL  EUROPE  AFTER  NAPOLEON'S  DOWNFALL 


85 


from  the  armistice  to  the  renewal  of  hostilities  ; the  sixth,  from  the  rupture 
of  the  armistice  to  the  fall  of  Napoleon  in  1814;  the  seventh,  during  the 
crisis  before  the  Hundred  Days — and  after  ; the  eighth,  the  rise  and  progress 
of  the  Continental  system  he  established  ; the  ninth,  the  decline  and  fall  of 
that  Continental  system  ; the  tenth,  the  close  of  his  career.  Our  readers 
are  prepared  by  these  dates  and  the  memory  of  the  events  narrated  in  pre- 
ceding chapters  for  a brief  consideration  of  Metternich’s  Continental 
system. 

The  Holy  Alliance  of  the  great  powers  was  signed  in  September,  1815. 
It  was  the  keystone  of  the  arch  which  Metternich,  planning  for  the  Emperor 
Francis,  was  building  to  replace  the  fallen  temple  of  Napoleon.  England, 
through  Lord  Castlereagh,  refused  to  accede  to  it.  The  state  of  the  Conti- 
nent, at  the  close  of  1815,  offered  a great  opportunity  to  a brilliant  states- 
man. Twenty-three  years  of  almost  incessant  warfare  had  produced  a 
longing  for  peace,  for  an  era  of  definite  tranquillity,  such  as  has  rarely  been 
equalled.  But  the  French  Revolution  had,  in  spite  of  its  excesses,  widely 
disseminated  its  principles  throughout  Europe.  In  the  eyes  of  Metternich 
all  concession  to  such  principles  was  destructive.  Having  a free  hand  and 
being  in  a position  to  dictate  a policy  and  inaugurate  a system  which  would 
be  supported  by  the  armed  force  of  Continental  Europe,  he  deliberately  cast 
to  the  winds  the  generous  ideas  which  the  sovereigns  had  enunciated  in  the 
hours  of  their  distress,  and  adopted  plans  of  repression  and  one-man  rule. 

The  Peace  of  Pressburg  following  Austerlitz,  completed  as  we  have 
seen  the  dissolution  of  the  old  German  Empire,  and  secured  for  France  a 
predominating  influence  in  central  and  southern  Germany.  At  Vienna  it 
followed  naturally  that  the  Ministers  who  had  instigated  a war  which  re- 
sulted in  so  disastrous  a peace  should  no  longer  hold  office.  Count  Stadion, 
then,  who  had  been  ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg,  was  directed  to  replace 
Count  Colloredo  at  the  Foreign  Office ; and  at  the  express  instance  of  the 
Emperor  Alexander,  Prince  Metternich  was  ordered  to  succeed  Stadion. 
For  the  embass}^  at  Paris  Count  Philip  Cobenzl  had  been  named,  but 
Napoleon  objected  to  him,  and  had  indicated  Metternich  as  the  man  most 
suitable  to  strengthen  the  relations  he  was  anxious  to  see  established  be- 
tween the  two  empires.  Metternich  learned  this  change  in  his  destination 
only  when  he  had  reached  Vienna  on  his  way  to  take  up,  as  he  believed, 
the  embassy  at  St.  Petersburg.  To  himself  the  change  was  most  unwel- 
come. The  relations  between  himself  and  the  Czar  had  been  of  a most 
cordial  character,  and  he  had  looked  forward  with  real  pleasure  to  a residence 
in  a country  with  the  sovereign  of  which  he  had  so  many  sympathies.  For 


86 


CONTINENTAL  EUROPE  AFTER  NAPOLEONS  DOWNFALL 


alike  at  this  time  and  always  Metternick  hated  the  French  Revolution  and 
all  its  offspring.  He  regarded  Napoleon,  he  tells  us,  as  its  “ incarnation.” 
Alexander,  at  that  time,  completely  shared  his  views  on  this  point.  He 
had  not  been  discouraged  by  Austerlitz ; not  even  sufficiently  humiliated 
to  recognize  as  an  Emperor  and  an  equal  a man  whom  he  regarded  only 
as  a Corsican  adventurer.  All  that  and  more  were  to  come.  But,  in  the 
beginning  of  1806,  the  Czar  still ' employed  the  contemptuous  utterances 
regarding  the  great  Emperor  which  the  jackals,  who  for  ten  years  groveled 
before  him,  used  after  his  fall.  Well,  indeed,  might  Metternich,  holding 
the  views  he  did  and  animated  by  the  prejudices  which  influenced  him  all 
his  life,  shrink  from  the  embassy  to  Paris.  But  the  sacrifice  of  his  personal 
wishes  had  become  a necessity.  Though  Austria  had  been  vanquished,  she 
had  not  been  wholly  discouraged. 

So  much  in  war  depends  on  fortune,  and  the  Emperor  Francis  felt 
that  fortune  had  been  unkind.  The  selection  of  Mack  to  be  Commander- 
in-Chief  had  been  a mistake  such  as  would  never  be  repeated.  Then,  from 
a military  point  of  view,  the  Czar  had  been  the  evil  genius  of  the  campaign. 
Francis  had  always  urged  that  no  battle  should  be  fought  at  Austerlitz,  but 
that  the  French  should  be  lured  on  to  the  extremities  of  the  empire,  when 
an  attempt  should  be  made  to  destroy  their  long  line  of  communication  ; 
but  Alexander  would  insist  on  fighting.  Though  the  Allies  had  been  beaten 
then,  the  Austrian  court  was  not  discouraged.  All  they  wanted  was  time 
— time  to  rally,  time  to  reorganize,  time  for  recuperation  ; and  Francis  felt 
that  he  could  most  surely  obtain  that  time  by  sending  to  Paris  as  his  am- 
bassador a man  agreeable  to  the  French  Emperor,  and  yet  upon  whose  tact 
and  knowledge  of  the  world  he  could  thoroughly  depend. 

When,  therefore,  Napoleon  expressed  his  desire  to  see  Metternich  at 
Paris,  Francis,  who  knew  Metternich  well,  very  readily  complied.  He  re- 
ceived him  on  his  arrival  in  Vienna  with  his  usual  kindness ; praised  him 
for  his  conduct  in  Berlin,  and  set  before  him  the  necessity  of  accommodating 
himself  to  what  he  called  his  destiny,  with  expressions  which  made  it  im- 
possible for  him  to  oppose  his  wishes.  But  the  soft  words  of  his  sovereign 
did  not  hide  from  Metternich  the  difficulties  which  would  await  him  at 
Paris.  France  was  still  at  war  with  England ; no  peace  had  been  made 
with  Russia ; a very  guarded  conduct  was  necessary  for  the  Austria  whose 
interests  he  would  represent.  Then,  too,  there  was  Prussia,  groveling  at 
the  feet  of  Napoleon,  rejoicing  in  her  heart  of  hearts  at  the  humiliation  of 
her  ancient  rival,  and  yet  dreading  lest  the  next  blow  should  fall  on  her. 
If,  argued  Metternich,  hostilities  might  be  averted  till  Austria  could  recoup 


CONTINENTAL  EUROPE  AFTER  NAPOLEON'S  DOWNFALL 


87 


herself,  then  all  might  go  well ; if  not,  the  next  state  of  Germany  would  be 
worse  than  that  then  existing.  Still  he  did  not  despair.  He  had  belief  in 
himself : belief  in  his  power  to  win  the  confidence  of  others  without  betray- 
ing his  own  secret  views.  He  would  enjoy,  moreover,  the  opportunity — 
golden  to  a cold,  determined  nature  such  as  he  possessed — to  study  the 
character  of  the  man  who  held  in  his  hand  the  fate  of  Europe,  and  to  keep 
his  master  well  informed  as  to  the  chances  which  might  befall.  The  new 
ambassador  quitted 'Vienna  for  his  destination  in  July,  1806. 

At  Strasbiirg  he  was  delayed  for  a time,  as  Napoleon  was  there  endeav- 
oring to  arrange  terms  of  peace  with  Russia,  and,  apparently,  he  did  not 
wish  that  Metternich  should  arrive  until  the  Russian  agent  should  have 
departed.  Consequently  it  was  not  until  the  first  week  in  August  that  he 
reached  Paris.  The  first  important  personage  he  called  upon  was  the 
Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  the  courtly  Talleyrand.  The  impression  he 
received  of  that  statesman  was  favorable.  He  found  him  courteous  and  in- 
clined to  meet  the  views  he  put  forward.  For  he  at  once  asserted  his  own 
position,  explaining  to  the  minister,  when  he  spoke  of  his  desire  to  cultivate 
friendly  relations  with  Austria,  what  the  Emperor  Francis  understood  by 
“ friendly  relations,  which,”  he  added,  “ must  not  be  confounded  with  sub- 
mission.” 

This  interview  Metternich  himself  calls  the  beginning  of  his  public 
life.  “ All  that  had  gone  before,”  he  writes,  “ might  have  shown  the  inde- 
, pendence  of  my  character.  As  a man  of  principles  I could  not  and  I would 
not  bend  when  it  came  to  the  point  of  defending  them.  Within  a short 
space  of  time  destiny  had  placed  me  face  to  face  with  the  man  who  at  this 
epoch  ruled  the  affairs  of  the  world  ; I felt  it  my  duty,  and  I had  the  courage 
never  to  offer  to  mere  circumstance  a sacrifice  which  I could  not  defend  to 
my  conscience,  both  as  a statesman  and  a private  individual.  The  voice  of 
conscience  ^ followed ; and  I do  not  think  it  was  a good  inspiration  of 
Napoleon’s  which  called  me  to  functions  which  gave  me  the  opportunity 
of  appreciating  his  excellence,  but  also  the  possibility  of  discovering  the 
faults  which  at  last  led  him  to  ruin,  and  freed  Europe  from  the  oppression 
under  which  it  languished.” 

Metternich  was  right.  Napoleon  never  made  a greater  mistake  than 
when  he  invited  to  his  court  this  most  implacable  enemy.  Yet  there  are 
few  sentences  in  the  Autobiography  of  Metternich  which  reveal  his  char- 
acter more  completely  than  that  quoted.  The  intense  self-appreciation  ; the 
allusion  to  the  voice  of  conscience,  as  if  in  him  the  voice  of  conscience  had 
been  other  than  an  intense  desire  to  rid  Europe  of  the  incarnation  of  the 


88 


CONTINENTAL  EUROPE  AFTER  NAPOLEONS  DOWNFALL 


hated  revolution.  Those  who  follow  his  career  will  not  fail  to  recognize 
that  from  1806  to  1814  this  was  the  one  aim,  the  solitary  purpose  to  which 
the  Austrian  ambassador,  more  Austrian  in  this  respect  than  his  own 
sovereign,  directed  all  his  efforts.  That  aim  never  left  him.  It  was  with 
him  alike  when  intriguing  with  the  Russian  ambassador  and  with  Talley- 
rand, and  when  apparently  enjoying  the  friendly  converse  of  Napoleon  and 
the  Empress.  At  the  court  of  the  Emperor,  whom  he  never  ceased  to 
regard  as  a parveiiu^  he  had  made  himself  liked — only  that  he  might  enjoy 
better  opportunities  of  studying,  in  order  to  find  the  weak  points  in  the 
character  of  the  man  who  was  in  it  the  prominent  figure. 

Metternich  was  extremely  well  received  at  Paris,  alike  by  Napoleon 
and  the  members  of  the  Imperial  family,  and  in  general  society.  Young, 
with  a physiognomy  which  might  well  be  called  distinguished,  with  the 
courtly  manners  of  the  old  ^'Sgime^  talking  well,  and  possessing  the  wit 
which  is  nowhere  more  appreciated  than  in  France,  having,  besides,  a 
special  interest  in  making  himself  agreeable,  he  could  scarcely  fail  to  make 
good  his  footing. 

His  real  opinion  regarding  Napoleon  breaks  out  repeatedly  in  his 
Autobiography.  He  read  him,  he  tells  ns,  at  their  first  interview.  The 
fact  that  Napoleon  kept  on  his  hat  on  the  occasion  when  Metternich  pre- 
sented his  credentials  ; that,  possessing  as  the  Austrian  ambassador  records, 
a short,  broad  figure,  and  dressing  negligently,  the  Emperor  should  have 
endeavored  to  make  an  imposing  effect,  “ combined,”  he  writes,  “ to  weaken 
in  me  the  feeling  of  grandeur  naturally  attaching  to  the  idea  of  a man 
before  whom  the  world  trembled.”  This  first  impression,  he  tells  ns,  was 
never  entirely  effaced  from  his  mind.  What  followed  is  more  curious  still. 
The  impression  thus  formed,  adds  the  same  authority,  helped  to  show  him 
the  man  as  he  was,  ‘‘  behind  the  masks  with  which  he  knew  how  to  cover 
himself.  In  his  freaks,  in  his  fits  of  passion,  in  his  brusque  interpellations, 
I saw  prepared  scenes,  studied  and  calculated  to  produce  a ceitain  effect  on 
the  person  to  whom  he  was  speaking.”  When  Metternich  tells  us  that  he 
discovered  all  this  and  imbibed  an  impression  regarding  Napoleon  which 
was  never  entirely  effaced,  from  what  passed  at  their  first  interview,  we  turn 
with  some  curiosity  to  the  recorded  account  of  that  interview.  We  are 
fortunately  able  to  present  that  record  on  the  authority  of  one  to  whom  Met- 
ternich liimself  would  offer  no  objection,  for  it  is  his  own  story.  “ I pre- 
sented myself  to  Napoleon,”  he  writes,  without  delivering  an  address  at 
the  first  audience  I had  at  St.  Cloud,  as  was  the  custom  of  1113^  colleagues. 
I confined  m3^self  to  stating  that  as  in  accordance  with  his  own  wishes  I 


CONTINENTAL  EUROPE  AFTER  NAPOLEON'S  DOWNFALL 


89 


had  been  chosen  to  represent  the  Emperor  of  Austria  at  his  Court,  I should 
strive  on  every  occasion  to  strengthen  the  good  relations  between  the  two 
empires  on  that  basis  upon  which  alone  a lasting  peace  could  be  established 
between  independent  states.  Napoleon  answered  me  in  the  same  simple 
style,  and  our  subsequent  personal  relations  took  their  tone  from  this  first 
meeting.”  This  is  the  unvarnished  account.  The  other  represents 
the  version  compiled  in  later  years,  based  upon  the  violent  antipathy  in- 
spired by  the  incarnation  of  the  Revolution  in  the  mind  of  a representative 
of  the  idea  which  prevailed  prior  to  1789. 

The  same  spirit  is  displayed  b}^  Metternich  when  he  attempts  to 
describe,  and  to  ridicule  when  describing,  the  hospitalities  of  Fontainebleau. 
“ The  aspect  of  the  Court  of  Fontainebleau,”  he  wrote  in  1807,  could  not 
but  offer  many  objects  of  curiosity  to  an  impartial  observer.  This  Court 
sometimes  endeavored  to  go  back  to  the  old  forms,  and  sometimes  rejected 
them  as  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  moment.  The  Emperor  hunted  forty 
miserable  deer  which  had  been  brought  from  Hanover  and  other  parts  of 
Germany  to  refill  a forest  twenty  leagues  round,  because  the  kings  had 
their  fixed  days  for  hunting.  He  did  not  reall}^  care  for  the  sport,  except 
for  the  violent  exercise,  which  suited  his  health  ; and  besides,  he  merely 
went  at  full  speed,  right  and  left,  through  the  forest  without  regularly  fol- 
lowing the  hunt.”  It  was,  in  fact,  in  the  eyes  of  the  aristocratic  ikustrian, 
who  had  imbibed  his  ideas  in  the  society  of  the  emigres^  the  Court  of  a 
parvenu.  It  is  easy  to  understand  why,  with  the  feelings  which  animated 
him,  Metternich  was  anxious  that  Napoleon  should  not  wage  war  with 
Prussia.  Austria  lay  disarmed  and  bleeding,  yet  secretly  determined  to 
prepare  to  use  the  first  fitting  occasion  to  recover  what  she  had  lost. 
Prussia,  full  of  resources,  and  still  possessing  the  prestige  which  Frederick 
H had  won  for  her,  was  to  be  humbled  before  Austria  could  recover.  Such 
was  the  imperial  programme,  and  Napoleon  set  out  to  execute  it  just  two 
months  after  the  arrival  of  Metternich  in  Paris. 

During  the  war,  then,  which  ended  in  the  dismemberment  of  Prussia, 
Metternich  remained  in  the  French  capital,  noting,  he  says,  the  impression 
which  the  news  of  Napoleon’s  victories  produced  there.  He  states  that  the 
impression  was  certainly  not  one  of  joy  ; that  it  was  simply  one  of  satis- 
faction that  France  had  escaped  the  consequences  and  that  her  internal 
peace  was  not  endangered.  When,  at  last,  Napoleon  returned,  intoxicated 
with  victory,  from  the  banks  of  the  Niemen  to  Paris,  and  all  the  repre- 
sentatives of  Foreign  Powers  crowded  to  his  reception  to  welcome  him,” 
Metternich  records  how  they  all  had  in  turn  to  hear  unpleasant  things  from 


90 


CONTINENTAL  EUROPE  AFTER  NAPOLEON E DOWNFALL 


the  mouth  of  the  conqueror.  He  adds,  “I  came  oif  best,  though,”' with 
respect  to  certain  negotiations  regarding  the  boundary  between  Austria  and 
Italy  which  had  just  been  concluded;  “the  feeling  of  Napoleon  betrayed 
itself  in  a way  anything  but  satisfactory  to  the  wishes  of  Austria.”  From 
that  moment  dates  the  study  of  the  character  of  Napoleon  which  Metter- 
nich  used  with  so  much  effect  subsequently  to  1809.  He  had  many  oppor- 
tunities, for  he  could  make  himself  more  than  agreeable,  and  Napoleon, 
enjoying  his  society,  revealed  himself  to  him.  Recognizing,  as  he  records, 
all  the  great  qualities  of  Napoleon,  his  vivid  intellect,  his  clear  and  precise 
conceptive  power,  his  love  of  action  when  his  resolution  was  taken,  the 
directness  of  his  aims  and  views,  and  yet  his  power  to  modify  them  at  any 
given  moment,  his  marvelous  insight,  the  abstract  justice  of  his  mode  of 
arguing,  the  fact  that  he  was  never  rooted  to  his  own  opinions  when  reason 
could  be  shown  on  the  other  side,  never  influenced  in  public  affairs  by  affec- 
tion or  hatred  ; he  was  keeiiH  alive,  on  the  other  hand,  to  his  failings.  He 
found  him  full  of  faults ; a gambler  on  a great  scale,  thinking  of  nothing 
but  to  advance,  reckoning  alike  on  the  weaknesses  and  errors  of  his  adver- 
saries. It  was  the  abuse  of  the  last-named  habit  in  which  Metternich  rec- 
ognized, even  during  the  time  of  his  embassy  to  Paris,  the  charmed  weapon 
which,  if  Austria  would  but  hold  herself  in  readiness,  could  be  used  with 
deadly  effect  against  the  Revolution  and  its  living  incarnation  ; which  Aus- 
tria did  attempt  to  use  in  1809,  coming  much  nearer  to  success  than  the 
casual  reader  would  suppose,  and  which  she  did  wield  with  triumphant 
result  in  1813-14. 

Several  important  events  occurring  elsewhere  are  to  be  noted.  One  is 
the  cession  by  Denmark  of  Norway  to  Sweden.  Another  is  the  gradual 
but  steady  advance  of  Russian  interests  in  Asia.  It  was  in  this  second 
decade  that  Russia  renewed  in  Bulgaria  her  aggressions  against  the  Turks, 
Kutuzoff  leading  her  army.  Russia  has  for  ages  looked  with  an  eye  of 
desire  upon  Constantinople  and  the  Turkish  seaboard.  A prophecy  of 
extreme  antiquity  foretells  the  ultimate  accomplishment  of  her  purposes. 
When  or  by  whom  it  was  first  uttered  no  man  knows.  Eight  centuries  ago 
it  might  be  read  upon  an  equestrian  statue,  then  very  old,  which  had  been 
brought  to  Constantinople  from  Antioch.  It  was  believed  for  centuries 
before  the  invasion  of  the  Turks;  and  the  Turks  themselves  soon  learned 
to  look  forward  to  its  fulfilment.  In  Russia  a powerful  national  sentiment 
regards  the  possession  of  Constantinople  as  a manifest  destiny,  and  urges 
forward  every  measure  which  tends  to  accomplish  it.  The  Emperor  Alex- 
ander claimed  that  he  himself  was  the  only  Russian  who  resisted  the 


CONTINE.SfTAL  EUROPE  AFTER  NAPOLEON'S  DOWNFALL 


91 


national  desire  to  seize  Turkey.  The  Emperor  Nicholas  stated  that  he  did 
not  wish  Russia  to  possess  Constantinople,  but  it  was  inevitable  ; as  well  he 
said,  strive  to  arrest  a stream  in  its  descent  from  the  mountains.  Russia 
has  omitted  no  opportunity  of  aggravating  the  disorders  of  the  Turkish 
empire,  p.nd  thus  of  silently  hastening  its  overthrow.  During  a great  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century  she  contrived  to  involve  the  Turks  in  perpetual 
quarrel,  and  waged  against  them  frequent  and  destructive  wars.  And  she 
would  long  ago,  by  open  violence,  have  fulfilled  the  ancient  prediction  had 
not  the  jealousies  of  the  other  European  powers  peremptorily  forbidden  this 
aggrandizement. 

This  decade  witnessed  also  the  rise  in  power  of  Mehemet  Ali.  He  had 
entered  the  Turkish  army  at  an  early  age,  and  in  1799  was  sent  to  Egypt 
at  the  head  of  a contingent  of  three  hundred  troops,  to  co-operate  with  the 
British  against  the  French  invaders.  Here  his  fine  military  qualities  rapidly 
developed,  and  he  at  length  became  commander  of  the  Albanian  corps 
d’armee  in  Egypt.  In  1806  he  was  recognized  by  the  Porte  as  Viceroy  of 
Egypt  and  Pasha  of  Three  Tails  ; but  was  soon  involved  in  disputes  with 
the  Mamelukes,  who  had  long  practically  ruled  Egypt.  He  terminated  the 
struggle  in  1811,  by  the  massacre  of  the  greater  number  of  these  at  Cairo. 
The  rest  fled  to  Upper  Egypt,  but  were  expelled  by  Meiapoute  in  the  follow- 
ing year.  They  then  took  refuge  in  Nubia  from  their  remorseless  foe  ; 
but  in  1820  he  followed  them  thither,  and  they  were  utterly  exterminated.’ 


CHAPTER  X 


(SECOND  DECADE) 

WARRING  FOR  FREEDOM  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 


\_Resumi, — The  conquerors  of  Mexico  and  Peru  effected  in  a few  3^ears  more  than  they  left  behind  them 
for  future  ages  to  effect,  ranging  along  the  coast  from  the  southern  extremity  of  Chili  to  the  penin- 
sula and  Gulf  of  California.  As  early  as  1537,  within  six  years  after  the  landing  of  Pizarro  in  Peru, 
and  within  two  after  the  founding  of  Buenos  Ayres,  the  Spaniards  met  on  the  eastern  borders  of 
Peru  from  opposite  shores  of  the  continent.] 


SPAIN  was  foremost  among  the  European  powers  that  colonized  America., 
In  one  respect  her  colonies  differed  from  those  of  Portugal,  France,  and 
England.  Hers  alone  came  in  contact  with  civilization,  such  as  it  was 
among  the  aborigines  ; and,  accordingly,  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  colonization 
required  to  be  preceded  by  something  like  regular  war  and  formal  conquest. 
Notwithstanding  this  obstacle,  the  colonies  of  Spain  grew  at  first  with  a 
rapidity  which  has  scarcely  found  its  parallel  even  in  the  somewhat  similar 
instance  of  Australia.  It  was  colonial  resources  that  armed  Cortes  and 
Pizarro  for  their  respective  enterprises;  and  without  the  immediate  aid  of  the 
mother  country,  Cuba,  within  twenty-seven  years  after  the  first  discovery 
equipped  the  conquerors  of  Mexico,  while  the  town  of  Panama,  only  twelve 
years  later,  sent  forth  the  adventurers  that  were  to  subjugate  Peru.  Such 
vigor  and  vitality  continued  for  a long  time  to  advance  in  Spain’s  trans- 
atlantic possessions.  It  was  only  after  law  and  order  were  established  that 
the  authorities  of  the  old  country  “ stereotyped”  their  despotism  along  the 
length  and  breadth  of  every  colony.  From  that  moment  vigor  and  vitality 
were  succeeded  by  stagnation  and  torpor. 

The  efforts  of  Portugal,  in  the  cause  of  South  American  colonization, 
were  at  first  less  energetic  than  those  of  Spain.  In  fact,  Portugal,  having 
doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  1497,  zealously  engaged  in  the 

East  as  to  allow  a generation  to  pass  before  sending  any  coloii}^  to  Brazil. 
92 


WARRING  FOR  FREEDOM  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 


93 


The  discovery  of  that  country  took  place  in  1500.  In  1580,  at  the  same 
time  as  Portugal  itself,  it  was  annexed  to  the  Spanish  monarchy,  and  soon 
afterwards  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  rebellious  Hollanders.  In  1640  it 
threw  off  the  Spanish  yoke,  and  became  the  most  flourishing  of  Portuguese 
colonies — the  refuge  of  the  Plouse  of  Braganza  from  French  domination. 

Of  all  the  republics  of*  Spanish  origin  in  South  America,  Chili  is, 
perhaps,  the  best  governed  and  most  prosperous.  The  history  of  its 
development  will  proceed  with  our  story  of  the  century.  Here  it  is  only 
necessary  to  remind  the  reader  that  Chili,  immediately  after  the  conquest  of 
Peru,  was  seized  by  Almagro,  a companion  of  Pizarro,  and  subsequently 
became  the  seat  of  a Spanish  Captain-generalship,  which  held  swa^^  as  far 
as  Cape  Horn.  In  1810  began  the  war  of  independence,  which,  at  the  close 
of  eight  years,  was  decided  against  Spain  by  the  victory  of  Maypu. 

In  the  history  of  South  America  the  name  of  one  man  is  pre-eminent, 
just  as  the  name  of  Washington  is  pre-eminent  in  the  histoiy  of  the  United 
States.  That  name  is  Simon  Bolivar,  called  El  Liber tador^  for  he  rescued 
South  America  from  the  Spanish  yoke.  Born  in  Caracas,  1783,  of  a noble 
and  wealthy  family,  he  traveled  and  studied  extensively  in  Europe,  and  in 
1809  visited  the  United  States,  returning  home  with  the  fixed  determination 
of  freeing  his  country  from  foreign  despotism.  Arriving  at  Venezuela,  he 
at  once  associated  himself  with  the  patriots  there,  and  after  the  insurrection 
of  Caracas,  1810,  was  sent  to  London  with  a view  to  enlisting  British 
interest. 

The  British  government,  however,  declaring  its  neutralit}^  Bolivar 
speedily  returned  and  fought  under  General  Miranda  in  several  successful 
engagements.  The  Spaniards  having  again  obtained  possession  of  Vene- 
zuela, Bolivar  fled  to  Curagoa.  He  did  not  remain  long  inactive.  Sympa- 
thized with  by  the  republican  president  of  New  Granada,  he  raised  a force 
of  volunteers,  defeated  the  Spaniards  several  times,  his  army  increasing 
with  each  victory;  and  in  1813,  August  4th,  entered  Caracas  as  a con- 
queror, was  hailed  as  the  liberator  of  Venezuela,  and  made  absolute  dictator 
in  all  civil  and  military  affairs.  After  defeating  the  Spaniards  in  several 
engagements  he  was  himself  worsted  at  the  battle  of  La  Puerta,  and  again 
in  August  at  San  Mateo,  where  he  had  a narrow  escape.  He  now  went  to 
Cartagena  and  afterwards  to  Kingston,  in  Jamaica,  where  an  assassin,  hired 
by  the  Spaniards,  tracked  his  steps,  but,  b}^  mistake,  murdered  his  secretary. 
Having  visited  Hayti  and  assembled  there  a body  of  insurgent  refugees,  he 
landed  with  them  on  the  island  of  Margarita  in  1816  and  convoked  a con- 
gress, instituted  a government,  proclaimed  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and 


94 


WARRING  FOR  FREEDOM  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 


immediately  manumitted  his  own  slaves.  The  following  two  years  w^ere 
marked  by  successes  over  Morillo.  In  1819  (February),  a congress  was 
opened  at  Angostura,  and  Bolivar  chosen  President,  was  armed  with  the 
power  of  dictator.  Having  conducted  his  forces  over  the  almost  impassable 
Cordilleras  to  New  Granda,  he  achieved  the  victories  of  Tunja  and  Bojaca, 
and  soon  afterward  declared  New  Granada  united  with  Venezuela  as  a 
republic,  under  the  name  of  Colombia.  The  office  of  President  was  con- 
ferred upon  him.  The  revolt  against  Spanish  rule  involved  all  the  Central 
or  South  American  states — Venezuela,  New  Granada,  Buenos  Ayers,  Chili, 
and  Paraguay. 

It  was  the  same  tale  in  Mexico.  So  far  back  as  1540  that  country  was 
united,  with  other  American  territories,  under  the  name  of  New  Spain,  and 
governed  by  viceroys  appointed  by  the  mother  country.  The  intolerant 
spirit  of  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  led  to  the  suppression  of  almost  every 
trace  of  the  ancient  Aztec  nationality,  while  the  strict  system  of  sequestra- 
tion enforced  in  Mexico  crippled  the  resources  of  the  colony ; yet  notwith- 
standing these  drawbacks  Mexico  ranked  first  among  all  the  Spanish 
colonies  in  population,  material,  riches,  and  natural  products.  It  may  be 
said  to  have  vegetated  for  nearly  three  centuries  in  a semi-quiescent  pros- 
perity, interrupted  by  few  disturbances  of  any  kind  until  1810,  when  the 
discontent,  which  had  been  gaining  ground  against  the  viceregal  power 
during  the  war  of  Spain  with  Napoleon,  broke  into  open  rebellion  under  the 
leadership  of  a country  priest  named  Hidalgo.  Hidalgo’s  defeat  and  death 
by  execution  put  a partial  stop  to  the  insurrection  ; but  the  atrocities  com- 
mitted under  the  sanction  of  the  new  viceroy,  Calleja,  exasperated  the 
people,  and  gave  irresistible  impulse  to  the  revolutionary  cause. 

The  Republic  of  Paraguay  is  one  of  the  least  known  of  the  South 
American  states.  Situated  in  the  heart  of  the  continent,  and  communi- 
cating with  the  sea  only  by  the  intermediary  of  the  Parana  River,  it  has 
until  of  late  remained  a far-away  country,  forgotten,  unvisited,  unexplored. 

And  yet  in  the  old  days  its  territory  was  the  centre  of  all  the  operations 
of  the  Europeans  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  America.  During  the  early  period 
of  the  Spanish  occupation  the  settlers  found  a readier  hospitality  in  Para- 
guay than  on  the  more  accessible  banks  of  the  river  Plata  ; while  its  fertility, 
genial  climate,  and  geographical  position  recommended  it  to  the  Jesuits  for 
the  establishment  of  their  “ reductions,”  and  for  the  essay  of  a system  of 
communism  which  gave  admirable  results  from  the  point  of  view  of  col- 
lective felicity.  During  two  hundred  years  the  settlements  of  the  Jesuits 
prospered.  In  1764  the  order  was  expelled  ; when  the  architects  left  it,  the 


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95 


communistic  edifice,  within  whose  pleasant  precincts  the  native  Guarani 
population  had  learned  the  elements  of  a simple  and  almost  idyllic  civiliza- 
tion, fell  into  ruins,  the  whole  country  and  the  people  quickly  declined.  In 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  when  the  independent  movement 
deprived  the  crown  of  Spain  of  its  American  colonies,  Paraguay  did  not  join 
in  the  generous  and  co-operative  work  of  liberty,  but  shut  itself  up  within 
its  frontiers,  trusting  to  its  wealth,  and  wishing  to  owe  nothing  to  its  neigh- 
bors. This  policy  was  that  of  the  dictator  Francia  and  of  his  successors, 
Lopez  I,  and  Lopez  II,  whose  despotic  rule  from  the  beginning  of  the 
century  up  to  1870,  was  virtually  a continuation  of  the  Jesuit  system  of 
state  communism,  minus  the  religious  and  recreative  elements.  Critics 
who  persist  in  considering  universal  suffrage  to  be  the  last  word  of  political 
science  have  severely  condemned  these  despots.  The  fact,  however,  remains 
that  under  their  rule  Paraguay  reached  a high  degree  of  wealth  and  material 
well-being. 


CHAPTER  XI 


(THIRD  DECADE) 

TEN  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  PEACE  AND  PROGRESS 


\_RHtiniL — Oiir  sketch  of  American  history  during  the  Second  Decade  embraced  a synopsis  of  the  leading 
events  of  the  War  of  1812,  and  references  to  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  the  United  States  Bank,  the  acqui- 
sition of  Florida,  the  admission  of  Alabama  to  Statehood,  etc.] 

By  an  ordinance  of  1787  slaver}^  was  forever  excluded  from  the  North- 
west Territory  of  the  United  States.  The  territories  applying  for 
admission  to  the  Union,  which  lay  north  of  the  Ohio  River,  were  to 
be  admitted  as  free  States  ; the  States  formed  south  of  the  Ohio  came  in  as 
slave  States.  This  line  of  demarcation  held  very  well  until  the  Mississippi 
River  was  crossed,  and  settlements  began  to  be  made  in  the  big  territory 
originally  called  Louisiana.  Then  the  question  arose  whether  the  States 
made  from  it  were  to  be  slave  States  or  free. 

At  the  time  when  Missouri  was  seeking  admission  into  the  Union 
(1818-1821),  the  country  was  in  the  first  throes  of  the  anti-slavery  agitation, 
when  abolition  was  not  as  yet  looked  forward  to  as  a possibility  by  any  one 
save  a few  so-called  fanatics.  All  the  energy  of  the  Northern  or  free  States 
was  directed  merel}^  to  hindering  the  further  extension  of  the  slave  territory, 
just  as  the  energy  of  the  Southern  States  was  devoted  to  its  promotion.  In 
IMissouri  the  pro-slavery  party  was  the  stronger,  and,  after  a long  and  bitter 
struggle,  the  confiicting  parties  effected  a compromise.  An  Act  of  Congress 
was  passed  February  28,  1821,  admitting  Missouri  as  a slave-holding 
State,  but  laying  down  the  principle  in  prospective  that  slavery  should 
thenceforth  be  prohibited  in  any  State  lying  north  of  36°  30',  the  northern 
boundary  of  Missouri.  This  parallel,  as  the  boundary  line  between  the 
free  and  slave  States,  came,  in  the  ensuing  conflict  over  slavery,  to  be  popu- 
larly known  as  “ Mason  and  Dixon’s  Line  ” — a name  which  really  belongs 
to  another  line  of  division.  That  is,  the  real  Mason  and  Dixon’s  line  was  a 
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TEN  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  PEACE  AND  PROGRESS 


97 


boundary  Hue  surveyed  between  November  15,  1763,  and  December  26, 
1767,  by  two  English  mathematicians  and  surveyors,  Charles  Mason  and 
Jeremiah  Dixon,  to  settle  the  constant  dissensions  between  the  Lords  Bal- 
timore and  the  Penn  family,  the  lords  proprietor  of  Maryland  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, respectively.  It  runs  along  the  parallel  in  latitude  39°  43'  26.3",  and 
was  originally  marked  by  milestones  bearing  on  one  side  the  coat-of-arms  of 
Penn,  and  on  the  other  those  of  Lord  Baltimore 

In  spite  of  the  dissensions  engendered  by  the  great  debate  in  Congress 
over  the  Missouri  Compromise,  the  Union  grew  steadily  stronger.  A sign  of 
of  its  strength  was  the  influence  it  had  on  its  neighbors.  We  have  seen  how 
the  provinces  of  Spain  in  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  South  America 
threw  off  the  dominion  of  the  mother  country  and  set  up  republics  after  the 
manner  of  the  United  States.  Europe  buttressed  Spain  in  her  attempt  to 
recover  these  provinces,  but  President  Monroe,  in  a message  to  Congress, 
declared  that  this  country  would  preserve  a strict  neutrality  in  the  war,  but 
should  any  Spanish  colony  achieve  independence,  the  United  States  would 
regard  an  attack  upon  it  by  a European  power  as  an  attack  upon  herself. 
This  declaration  has  received  the  name  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  and  it  was 
meant  simply  to  assert  that  the  preponderant  interest  of  the  United  States 
in  the  prosperity  of  the  whole  American  continent  would  not  permit  Europe 
to  recover  any  foothold  in  America  which  it  once  had  lost. 

While  this  question  was  pending,  an  election  for  President  of  the 
United  States  occurred.  Never  was  a canvass  carried  on  more  quietly,  and 
Monroe  and  Tompkins  were  re-elected  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote,  the 
old  Federal  party  as  a political  organization  being  nearly  extinct.  Mr. 
Monroe’s  second  term  was  not  marked  by  any  important  public  occur- 
rences, but  a pleasing  incident  in  our  history  distinguished  the  last  year  of 
his  administration.  It  was  the  visit  of  General  Lafayette  to  the  United 
States  as  the  “ nation’s  guest,”  he  having  been  invited  to  come  by  the 
President  at  the  request  of  Congress.  He  declined  the  offer  of  a ship-of- 
the-line  for  his  conveyance  to  this  country,  and  with  his  son  (George 
Washington),  and  his  secretary,  he  sailed  from  Havre  for  New  York,  where 
he  arrived  on  the  13th  of  August,  1824.  In  the  space  of  less  than  a year 
he  made  a tour  of  about  five  thousand  miles  through  the  principal  portions 
of  the  United  States,  and  was  greeted  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  His 
journey  was  almost  a continual  triumphal  procession.  Congress  voted  him 
$200,000  and  a township  of  land,  “ in  consideration  of  his  important  services 
and  expenditures  during  the  American  Revolution  and  when  he  was  ready 
to  return  to  France,  an  American  frigate,  named  the  “ Brand3^wine,”  in 


98 


TEN  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  PEACE  AND  PROGRESS 


compliment  to  him  (the  first  battle  for  our  independence  in  which  he  was 
engaged  having  been  fought  on  the  banks  of  the  Brandywine,  in  September, 
1777),  was  sent  by  our  government  to  convey  him  back.  He  had  witnessed 
the  greatness  of  the  American  republic ; on  his  return  he  experienced  the 
littleness  of  the  Bourbon  dynasty  in  France,  for  when,  on  his  arrival  in 
Havre,  a great  concourse  of  the  people  assembled  to  make  a demonstration 
in  his  honor,  they  were  dispersed  by  the  police. 

When  Monroe’s  administration  of  eight  years  was  drawing  to  a close, 
the  task  of  choosing  his  successor  devolved  upon  the  people.  There  were 
several  prominent  men  spoken  of  as  candidates,  and  the  choice  was  not  a 
political,  blit  a personal  affair.  The  nomination,  in  the  state  of  political 
parties  at  that  time,  if  done  with  unanimity,  would  be  equivalent  to  an 
election.  But  candidates  were  too  numerous  to  insure  unanimity.  The 
principal  ones  were  William  H.  Crawford,  John  Quincy  Adams,  Henry 
Clay,  John  C.  Calhoun,  and  Andrew  Jackson.  The  elections  held  in  the 
autumn  of  1824,  showed  conclusively  that  not  one  of  the  candidates  would 
be  elected  by  the  popular  vote,  and  that  the  choice  would  devolve  upon 
the  House  of  Representatives.  This  was  determined  by  the  vote  of  the 
electoral  colleges;  and  in  February,  1825,  House  of  Representatives 
chose  John  Quincy  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  for  President,  and  John  C. 
Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina,  for  Vice-President,  by  votes  of  the  thirteen 
States.  The  administration  of  Monroe  was  not  made  noteworthy  by  any 
important  events  besides  those  mentioned,  excepting  the  passage  of  an 
act  making  provision  by  pensions  for  the  widows  and  children  of  deceased 
soldiers  of  the  War  for  Independence  and  the  War  of  1812-1815;  also  an 
arrangement  with  Great  Britain  by  which  American  citizens  were  allowed 
to  share  with  Englishmen  in  the  valuable  Newfoundland  fisheries.  At 
about  the  same  time  the  boundary  between  the  United  States  and  the 
American-British  possessions  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains  was  defined.  The  industries  of  the  country  were  readjusted. 
In  New  England,  in  which  capital  had  been  chiefly  employed  in  commerce, 
navigation,  and  the  fisheries,  manufactures  soon  became  the  favorite  pursuit, 
and  the  stimulating  influence  of  high  tariffs  established  in  1816  and  1818, 
was  amply  remunerative.  The  business  of  the  country  was  generally  very 
prosperous.  The  population  had  rapidly  increased;  the  paper  currency  of 
the  country  was  contracted  and  restored  to  a specie  basis.  Cotton  had 
become  the  staple  production  of  the  Southern  States  ; the  manufactures  of 
the  country  had  increased  tenfold ; the  national  debt  had  dwindled  from  one 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  million  dollars  in  1816  to  less  than  eighty 


TEN  YEARS  OE  AMERICAN  PEACE  AND  PROGRESS 


99 


million  dollars,  and  tlie  banking  capital  of  the  country  was  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  million  dollars.  Such  was  the  condition  of  the  country 
when  John  Quincy  Adams,  fifty-seven  years  of  age,  was  elevated  to  the 
office  of  President. 

It  was  in  this  decade  that  Captain  Parry  made  his  fruitless  attempt  to 
reach  the  North  Pole.  His  expedition  reached  latitude  82°  45'. 

The  great  coal  and  iron  regions  lying  in  the  Appalachian  range  began 
to  yield  their  riches.  Charcoal  was  formerly  used  in  smelting  iron,  but  in 
1820  the  Pennsylvania  iron-workers  began  to  make  experiments  in  mixing 
anthracite  coal  with  charcoal.  When  it  was  at  last  found  that  anthracite 
coal  could  be  used  alone  the  manufacture  of  iron  increased  with  great 
rapidity.  The  coal  was  close  by  the  iron  ore ; and  both  coal  and  iron  were 
so  near  the  Atlantic  seaboard  that  it  cost  little  to  get  the  produce  of  mines 
to  ports,  and  then  to  ship  it  to  points  up  and  down  the  coast.  With  a coun- 
try so  large,  and  with  population  spreading  in  every  direction,  it  became 
important  to  find  means  of  getting  quickly  and  easily  from  place  to  place. 
During  Monroe’s  administration  more  than  a million  dollars — a large  sum 
in  those  days — was  spent  by  government  in  building  a national  road  from 
Cumberland,  in  Maryland,  to  Ohio.  The  people  did  not  wait  for  the  gen- 
eral government,  and,  indeed,  there  were  many  who  thought  government 
ought  not  to  spend  the  public  money  in  this  way.  Sometimes  private  com- 
panies and  sometimes  the  State  built  roads  and  canals.  The  money  for 
building  them  and  keeping  them  in  repair  was  obtained  by  charging  tolls 
upon  all  who  used  them.  The  greatest  of  these  public  works  was  the  Erie 
Canal,  which  owed  its  execution  chiefly  to  the  energetic  Governor  of  New 
York,  De  Witt  Clinton.  It  was  begun  in  1817  and  opened  for  traffic  in 
1825.  It  extended  across  the  State  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Hudson  River, 
and  was  the  largest  canal  in  the  world.  The  Erie  Canal  was  thus  the  means 
by  which  the  produce  of  the  country  bordering  on  the  great  Lakes  and  of 
the  rich  farms  in  the  Mohawk  Valley  was  carried  to  the  sea.  It  was  one 
of  the  great  means  by  which  the  city  of  New  York  became  the  chief  com- 
mercial city  of  the  New  World. 

This  was  before  the  locomotive  had  been  perfected,  so  that  steam  rail- 
roads were  not  yet  in  operation.  Steamboats,  however,  were  alread}^  begin- 
ning to  ply  on  rivers  and  lakes.  Jnst  after  the  Erie  Canal  was  begun  a 
steamboat  was  built,  which  was  the  first  to  navigate  Lake  Erie.  The  next 
year  a still  more  important  step  was  taken.  The  steamer  “ Savan- 
nah ” crossed  the  Atlantic,  went  as  far  as  St.  Petersburg,  and  returned.  Six 
years  later,  when  the  Erie  Canal  was  finished,  the  steamer  ‘‘  Enterprise  ” 


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TEN  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  PEACE  AND  PROGRESS 


went  from  America  to  India  by  way  of  the  Cape,  of  Good  Hope.  Thus  the 
beginning  of  steam  navigation  for  America  had  been  made.  A year  after 
the  “ Enterprise  ” sailed  for  India  the  first  railroad  in  the  United  States  was 
opened  from  Milton  to  Quincy,  in  Massachusetts.  It  was  only  two  miles 
long,  and  was  used  for  hauling  grg.nite ; the  wagons  were  drawn  by  horses. 
It  was  the  first  use  of  rails  in  America.  In  1830  the  first  passenger  railway 
in  America  was  opened.  It  was  the  Baltimore  & Ohio  Railroad,  of  which 
fifteen  miles  had  been  built.  The  cars  were  at  first  drawn  by  horses,  but  a 
locomotive  was  used  the  next  year.  Now  began  the  construction  of  rail- 
roads in  various  directions  ; in  the  next  twenty  years  nearly  ten  thousand 
miles  of  road  were  built. 

Georgia  wished  to  get  rid  of  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees  remaining  with- 
in the  state  ; but  they  refused  to  go.  The  United  States  had  made  treaties 
with  them,  and  these  treaties  acknowledged  the  right  of  the  Indians  to  the 
land  which  they  held.  They  were  more  civilized  than  most  Indians,  and 
had  farms  which  they  cultivated.  A few  of  their  chiefs  were  persuaded  to 
sign  a new  treaty,  giving  up  their  lands.  The  other  Indians  at  once  put 
them  to  death ; they  declared  that  these  chiefs  had  no  authority  to  sign  for 
the  tribes,  and  that  there  was  no  treaty.  Georgia  would  not  wait  for 
the  Indians  to  yield.  The  State  ordered  a survey  ; the  territory  was  within 
her  boundaries,  but  it  also  was  distinctly  under  the  control  of  the  Indians 
by  agreement  with  the  United  States.  The  United  States  was  very  desirous 
of  getting  the  Indians  out  of  Georgia,  and  tried  every  means  to  persuade 
them  to  leave.  That  was  one  reason  why  it  suffered  Georgia  to  crowd  the 
Indians  out.  It  was  no  less  true  that  a State  was  taking  to  itself  a power 
which  belonged  only  to  the  Union.  The  wrangle  over  the  Indians  began  in 
the  administration  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  and  continued  after  Andrew 
Jackson  was  chosen  President.  Jackson  had  no  love  for  Indians  ; he  had 
fought  them  all  his  life,  and  he  did  not  now  interfere.  Georgia  had  her  own 
way,  and  the  doctrine  of  State  sovereignty  was  more  firmly  held  than  ever. 

No  sooner  had  General  Jackson  announced  the  names  of  the  gentlemen 
who  were  to  compose  his  cabinet,  than  an  opposition  to  one  of  them  mani- 
fested itself  of  a peculiar  and  most  virulent  character.  Mr.  Eaton,  the 
President’s  friend  and  neighbor,  was  the  object  of  this  opposition,  the 
grounds  of  which  must  be  particularly  stated,  for  it  led  to  important  results. 
A certain  William  O’Neal  kept  at  Washington  for  many  years  a large,  old- 
fashioned  tavern,  where  members  of  Congress  in  considerable  numbers 
boarded  during  the  sessions  of  the  national  Legislature.  William  O’Neal 
had  a daughter,  sprightly  and  beautiful,  who  aided  him  and  his  wife  in  en- 


TEN  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  PEACE  AND  PROGRESS 


101 


tertaining  his  boarders.  Peg  O’Neal,  as  she  was  called,  was  so  lively  in  her 
deportment,  so  free  in  her  conversation,  that,  as  might  be  expected,  her  name 
was  subjected  to  considerable  gossip,  not  always  of  a complimentary  nature. 
When  Major  Eaton  first  came  to  Washington  as  a Senator  of  the  United 
States,  in  the  year  i8i8,  he  took  board  at  Mr.  O’Neal’s  tavern,  and  con- 
tinued to  reside  there  every  winter  for  ten  years.  He  became  acquainted, 
of  course,  with  the  hiinily,  including  the  vivacious  and  attractive  Peg. 
When  General  Jackson  came  to  the  city  as  Senator,  in  1823,  went  to 

live  at  the  O’Neals’,  whom  he  had  known  in  Washington  before  it  had 
become  the  seat  of  government.  For  Mrs.  O’Neal,  who  was  a remarkably 
efficient  woman,  he  had  a particular  respect.  Even  during  his  presidency, 
when  he  was  supposed  to  visit  no  one,  it  was  one  of  his  favorite  relaxations, 
when  worn  out  with  business,  to  stroll  with  Major  Lewis  across  the  “ old 
fields  ” near  Washington,  to  the  cottage  where  Mrs.  O’Neal  lived  in  retire- 
ment, and  enjoy  an  hour’s  chat  with  the  old  lady.  Mrs.  Jackson,  also, 
during  her  residence  in  Washington,  in  1825,  became  attached  to  Mrs. 
O’Neal  and  to  her  daughter.  In  course  of  time  Miss  O’Neal  became  the 
wife  of  Purser  Timberlake,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  and  the  mother  of 
two  children.  In  1828  came  the  news  that  Mr.  Timberlake,  then  on  duty  in 
the  Mediterranean,  had  cut  his  throat  in  a fit  of  melancholy,  induced,  it  was 
said,  by  previous  intoxication. 

On  hearing  this.  Major  Eaton,  then  a widower,  felt  an  inclination  to 
marry  Mrs.  Timberlake,  for  whom  he  had  entertained  an  attachment  quite 
as  tender  as  a man  could  lawfully  indulge  for  the  wife  of  a friend  and 
brother  Mason.  He  took  the  precaution  to  consult  General  Jackson  on  the 
subject.  “Why,  yes.  Major,”  said  the  general,  “if  you  love  the  woman, 
and  she  will  have  you,  marry  her,  by  all  means.”  Major  Eaton  mentioned, 
what  the  general  well  knew,  that  Mrs.  Timberlake’s  reputation  in  Wash- 
ington had  not  escaped  reproach,  and  that  Major  Eaton  himself  was 
supposed  to  have  been  too  intimate  with  her.  “ Well,”  said  the  general, 
“ your  marrying  her  will  disprove  these  charges,  and  restore  Peg’s  good 
name.”  And  so,  perhaps,  it  might,  if  Major  Eaton  had  not  been  taken, 
into  the  Cabinet.  Eaton  and  Mrs.  Timberlake  were  married  in  January, 
1829,  a few  weeks  before  General  Jackson  arrived  at  the  seat  of  government. 
As  soon  as  it  was  whispered  about  Washington  that  Major  Eaton  was  to  be 
a member  of  the  new  Cabinet,  it  occurred  with  great  force  to  the  minds  of 
certain  ladies,  who  supposed  themselves  to  be  at  the  head  of  society  at  the 
capital,  that  in  that  case  Peg  O’Neal  would  be  the  wife  of  a Cabinet  minister, 
and,  as  such,  entitled  to  admission  into  their  own  sacred  circle.  From  the 


102 


TEN  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  PEACE  AND  PROGRESS' 


moment  the  scandal  reached  his  ears  the  new  President  made  Mr.  Eaton’s 
cause  his  own.  He  sent  a confidential  agent  to  New  York  to  investigate 
one  of  the  stories.  He  wrote  so  many  letters  and  statements  in  relation  to 
this  business  that  Major  Lewis,  wdio  lived  in  the  White  House,  was  worn  out 
with  the  nightly  toil  of  copying. 

The  entire  mass  of  the  secret  and  confidential  writings  relating  to  Mrs. 
Eaton,  all  dated  in  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1829,  most  of  them 
originally  in  General  Jackson’s  hand,  would  fill  about  one  hundred  of  these 
pages.  And  besides  these,  there  was  a large  number  of  papers  and  docu- 
ments not  deemed  important  enough  for  preservation.  General  Jackson, 
indeed,  brought  to  the  defence  of  ]\Irs.  Eaton  all  the  fire  and  resolution  with 
which,  forty  years  before,  he  had  silenced  every  wdiisper  against  Mrs.  Jack- 
son.  He  considered  the  cases  of  the  two  ladies  parallel.  His  zeal  in  behalf 
of  Mrs.  Eaton  was  a manifestation  or  consequence  of  his  wrath  against  the 
calumniators  of  his  wife.  At  length  the  President  of  the  United  States 
brought  this  matter  before  his  Cabinet.  The  members  of  the  Cabinet  hav- 
ing assembled  one  day  in  the  usual  place,  the  accusers  were  brought  before 
them,  when  the  President  endeavored  to  demonstrate  that  Mrs.  Eaton  was 
‘‘  as  chaste  as  snow.” 

The  sun  had  not  gone  down  upon  the  day  of  Jackson’s  inauguration 
before  it  was  known  in  all  official  circles  in  Washington  that  the  “ reform  ” 
alluded  to  in  his  inaugural  address  meant  a removal  from  office  of  all  who 
had  conspicuously  opposed,  and  an  appointment  to  office  of  those  who  had 
conspicuously  aided,  the  election  of  the  new  President.  The  work  was 
promptly  begun.  Colonel  Benton  will  not  be  suspected  of  overstating  the 
facts  respecting  the  removals,  but  he  admits  that  their  number  during  this 
year  (1829)  six  hundred  and  ninety.  His  estimate  of  six  hundred  and 
ninety  does  not  include  the  little  army  of  clerks  and  others  who  were  at  the 
disposal  of  some  of  the  six  hundred  and  ninety.  The  estimate  of  two 
thousand  includes  all  who  lost  their  places  in  consequence  of  General  Jack- 
son’s accession  to  power  ; and  though  the  exact  number  cannot  be  ascertained, 
it  was  not  less  than  two  thousand.  Colonel  Benton  says  that  of  the  eight 
thousand  postmasters  only  four  hundred  and  ninety-one  were  removed  ; but 
he  does  not  add,  as  he  might  have  added,  that  the  four  hundred  and  ninety- 
one  vacated  places  comprised  nearl}^  all  in  the  department  that  w^ere  worth 
having.  Nor  does  he  mention  that  the  removal  of  the  postmasters  of  half 
a dozen  great  cities  was  equivalent  to  the  removal  of  many  hundreds  of 
clerks,  bookkeepers,  and  carriers.  In  tlie  eagerness  of  his  desire  to  “ stand 
by  his  friends,”  the  President  was  brought  into  collision  with  the  Bank  of 


GROUP  OF  AM  FRIG  AX  AUTHORS. 


Geo.  Bancroft,  historian,  Imrn  in  Massachusetts  in 
1800;  died  in  1891. 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  poet,  born  in  Massacluisetts 
in  1809;  died  in  1894. 

William  Cullen  Bryant,  poet,  born  in  Massachusetts 
in  1794 ; died  in  1878. 


Edgar  Allen  Poe,  poet  and  critic,  horn  in  Maryland 
in  1809  ; died  in  1849. 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  jjoet  and  ])hilnsopher,  horn  in 
Massachusetts  in  1808;  died  in  1882. 

Washington  Irving,  historian,  born  in  New  "iork  in 
1783;  died  in  18.=i9. 


NOTKI)  WOMKX  OF  THF  CFNIl^IlY. 

Susan  H.  Anthony,  retornier,  lioni  in  1820.  Clara  Haiion,  philanthropist,  born  in  1830. 

Harriot  P.eeclior  .<to\ve,  novelist,  horn  in  1812;  died  Rosa  Honheur,  jiainter,  horn  in  1822;  died  in  1899. 

ill  is9ii.  .Julia  Ward  Howe,  poet,  born  in  1819. 

Frances  F.  Willard,  educator,  horn  iu  1839;  died  in  1898. 


TEN  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  PEACE  AND  PROGRESS 


103 


the  United  States,  a truly  imposing  and  powerful  institution  in  1829.  Its 
capital  was  thirty-five  millions.  The  public  money  deposited  in  its  vaults 
averaged  six  or  seven  millions,  its  private  deposits  six  millions  more,  its 
circulation  twelve  millions,  its  discounts  more  than  forty  millions  a year, 
its  annual  profits  more  than  three  millions.  Besides  the  parent  bank  at 
Philadelphia,  with  its  marble  palace  and  hundred  clerks,  there  were  twenty- 
five  branches  in  the  towns  and  cities  of  the  Union,  each  of  which  had  its 
president,  cashier,  and  board  of  directors.  The  employees  of  the  bank  were 
more  than  five  hundred  in  number,  all  men  of  standing  and  influence,  all 
liberally  salaried.  In  every  county  of  the  Union,  in  every  nation  on  the 
globe,  were  stockholders  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  vStates.  One-fifth  of 
its  stock  was  owned  by  foreigners.  One-fourth  of  its  stock  was  held  by 
women,  orphans,  and  the  trustees  of  charity  funds — so  high,  so  unquestioned 
was  its  credit.  Its  bank  notes  were  as  good  as  gold  in  every  part  of  the 
country.  From  Maine  to  Georgia,  from  Georgia  to  Astoria,  a man  could 
travel  and  pass  these  notes  at  every  point  without  discount.  In  London, 
Paris,  Rome,  Cairo,  Calcutta,  or  St.  Petersburg,  these  notes  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States  were  worth  a fraction  more  or  a fraction  less  than  their  value 
at  home,  according  to  the  current  rate  of  exchange.  They  could  usually  be 
sold  at  a premium  at  the  remotest  commercial  centres.  It  w^as  not  uncom- 
mon for  the  stock  of  the  bank  to  be  sold  at  a premium  of  forty  per  cent. 

The  directors  of  this  bank  were  twenty-five  in  number,  of  whom  five 
were  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States.  The  bank  and  its 
branches  received  and  disbursed  the  entire  revenue  of  the  nation.  At  the 
head  of  this  great  establishment  was  the  once  renowned  Nicholas  Biddle. 
General  Jackson  had  no  thought  of  the  bank  until  he  had  been  President 
two  months.  He  came  to  Washington  anticipating  but  a single  term, 
during  which  the  question  of  rechartering  the  bank  was  not  expected  to 
come  up.  The  bank  was  chartered  in  1816  for  twenty  years,  which  would 
not  expire  until  1836,  three  years  after  General  Jackson  hoped  to  be  at  the 
Hermitage  once  more,  never  to  leave  it.  The  first  intercourse,  too,  between 
the  bank  and  the  new  Administration  was  in  the  highe*st  degree  courteous 
and  agreeable.  A large  payment  was  to  be  made  of  the  public  debt  early  in 
the  summer,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  bank  managed  that  affair,  at 
some  loss  and  much  inconvenience  to  itself,  but  greatly  to  the  advantage 
of  the  public  and  to  the  credit  of  the  Government,  won  from  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  a warm  eulogium.  But  while  this  affair  was  going  on  so 
pleasantly,  trouble  was  brewing  in  another  quarter.  Isaac  Hill,  from  New 
Hampshire,  then  Second  Comptroller  of  the  Treasury,  was  a great  man  at 


104 


TEN  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  PEACE  AND  PROGRESS 


the  White  House.  He  had  a grievance.  Jeremiah  Mason,  one  of  the  three 
great  lawyers  of  New  England,  a Federalist,  a friend  of  Daniel  Webster 
and  of  Mr.  Adams,  had  been  appointed  to  the  presidency  of  the  branch  of 
the  United  States  Bank  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire — much  to  the  dis- 
gust of  Isaac  Hill  and  other  Jackson  men  of  that  State.  Isaac  Hill  desired 
the  removal  of  Mr.  Mason  and  the  appointment  in  his  place  of  a gentleman 
who  was  a friend  of  the  new  administration.  Mr.  Hill  caused  petitions  to 
be  addressed  to  the  directors  of  the  bank,  in  which  Mr.  Mason  was  accused 
of  partiality,  haughtiness,  mismanagement,  and  his  removal  demanded. 
Mr.  Biddle  went  himself  to  Portsmouth,  where  he  spent  six  days  in  investi- 
gation of  the  charges,  and  satisfied  himself  that  they  were  groundless.  He 
informed  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  who  had  addressed  him  on  the 
subject,  that  the  directors  would  not  remove  a faithful  servant  for  political 
reasons.  So  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  triumphed  over  Isaac  Hill  and 
the  administration.  It  was  a dear  victory. 

Near  the  close  of  the  new  President’s  first  message  was  the  famous 
passage  which  sounded'  the  first  note  of  war  against  the  United  States 
Bank  : “ The  charter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  expires  in  1836,  and  its 
stockholders  will  most  probably  apply  for  a renewal  of  their  privileges.  In 
order  to  avoid  the  evils  resulting  from  precipitancy  in  a measure  involving 
such  important  principles  and  such  deep  pecuniary  interests,  I feel  that  I can- 
not, in  justice  to  the  parties  interested,  too  soon  present  it  to  the  deliberate 
consideration  of  the  Legislature  and  the  people.  Both  the  constitutionality 
and  the  expediency  of  the  law  creating  this  bank  are  well  questioned  by  a 
large  portion  of  our  fellow-citizens,  and  it  must  be  admitted  by  all  that  it 
has  failed  in  the  great  end  of  establishing  a uniform  and  sound  currency.” 

The  Senate  retorted  by  rejecting  the  nomination  of  Isaac  Hill  to  the 
Second  Comptrollership  of  the  Treasury,  which  the  President  amended  by 
causing  Mr.  Hill  to  be  elected  Senator  from  New  Hampshire.  Many  other 
nominations  were  rejected,  and  the  great  bank  in  many  ways  frustrated  and 
defied  the  President.  After  years  of  loud  and  vehement  strife,  the  recharter- 
ing of  the  United  States  Bank  was  prevented  by  him,  and  it  ceased  to  exist  as 
a national  institution.  Congress  met  on  the  7th  of  December,  1829.  Such 
was  the  strength  of  the  Administration  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  that 
Andrew  Stephenson  was  re-elected  to  the  speakership  by  one  hundred  and 
fifty-two  votes  out  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-one.  This  Congress,  however, 
came  in  with  the  administration,  and  had  been  elected  when  General  Jackson 
was  elected.  This  was  the  session  signalized  by  the  great  debate  between 
Mr.  Hay  lie  and  Mr.  Webster,  the  first  of  many  debates  upon  nullification. 


CHAPTER  XII 


(THIRD  DECADE) 

THE  ENGLAND  OF  GEORGE  IV 


( Resume. — The  victories  of  Wellington,  the  consequent  high  position  assumed  by  England  in  the  Con* 
gress  of  Vienna,  and  the  tremendous  growth  of  her  Colonial  empire,  were  the  chief  topics  treated  in 
the  connecting  chapter  under  the  Second  Decade.] 

The  death,  in  1820,  of  George  III  and  the  accession  of  his  son,  the 
Prince  Regent,  as  George  IV,  began  the  third  decade  of  the  century 
for  Great  Britain.  It  was  not  an  auspicious  beginning.  The  new 
king  had  long  since  forsaken  his  wife.  Queen  Caroline,  and  privately 
charged  her  with  infidelity.  On  mounting  the  throne  his  first  act  was 
to  renew  his  accusations  against  her  and  to  lay  before  Parliament  a bill  for 
the  dissolution  of  their  marriage.  The  public  agitation  which  followed 
forced  the  ministry  to  abandon  the  bill,  but  the  shame  put  upon  royalty  and 
the  king’s  unpopularity  added  largely  to  the  country’s  discontent. 

One  of  the  cleverest  of  England’s  historians  (Green),  writing  of  this 
critical  period,  says  that  the  real  danger  to  public  order  lay  only  in  the 
blind  opposition  to  all  political  change  which  confused  wise  and  moderate 
projects  of  reform  with  projects  of  revolution.  In  1822  the  suicide  of  Lord 
Castlereagh,  to  whom  this  opposition  was  mainly  due,  put  an  end  to  the 
policy  of  mere  resistance.  Canning  became  Foreign  Secretary  in  Castle- 
reagh’s  place,  and  with  him  there  returned  the  progressive  policy  of  Wil- 
liam Pitt.  Abroad,  the  first  act  of  Canning  was  to  break  with  the  “ Holy 
Alliance,”  whose  despotic  polic}^  had  driven  Naples,  Spain,  and  Portugal 
into  revolt.  Canning  asserted  the  principle  of  non-interference  in  the 
internal  affairs  of  foreign  states,  a principle  he  enforced  by  sending  troops 
in  1826  to  defend  Portugal  from  Spanish  intervention,  while  he  recognized 
the  revolted  colonies  of  Spain  in  South  America  and  Mexico  as  independent 

105 


106 


THE  ENGLAND  OF  GEORGE  IV 


States.  At  home  liis  influence  was  seen  in  the  passage  of  the  bill  by  the 
House  of  Commons  giving  relief  to  Roman  Catholics. 

Here  is  a summary  of  English  politics  during  this  decade  : In  1823 
Canning  began  a commercial  policy  founded  on  a conviction  of  the  benefits 
derived  from  free  trade,  and  which,  later  on,  brought  about  the  repeal  of  the 
Corn  Laws.  On  the  death  of  Lord  Liverpool,  in  1827,  Canning  became 
First  Lord  of  the  Treasury,  but  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  with  the  Chan- 
cellor, Lord  Eldon,  and  the  Home  Secretary,  (then)  Mr.  Peel,  refused  to 
serve  under  him,  and  four  months  after  the  formation  of  Canning’s  min- 
istry it  was  broken  up  by  his  death.  A temporary  ministry  formed  on 
Canning’s  principles  was  rendered  impotent  by  the  situation  of  foreign 
affairs.  A revolt  of  the  Greeks  against  Turkey  had  lasted  some  years  in 
spite  of  Canning’s  efforts  to  bring  about  peace,  and  the  despatch  of  an 
Egyptian  expedition  to  devastate  the  Morea  and  carry  off  the  inhabitants 
as  slaves  forced  England,  France,  and  Russia  to  interfere.  In  1827  their 
united  fleet  attacked  and  destro^^ed  that  of  Turkey  in  the  bay  of  Navarino 
(about  which  in  a succeeding  chapter)  ; but  the  blow  at  Turkey  was  dis- 
approved by  English  public  opinion  and  the  makeshift  ministry  driven 
to  resign. 

When,  now,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  formed  a strong  Tory  ministry, 
with  Peel  to  support  him  in  the  House  of  Commons,  it  was  commonly 
regarded  as  “ a promise  of  utter  resistance  to  all  further  progress.”  But 
Daniel  O’Connell  had  organized  a “ Catholic  Association,”  in  Ireland, 
which  maintained  an  increasing  agitation,  and  had  now  reached  a point 
where  the  English  ministry  had  to  choose  between  concessions  to  it  and 
civil  war. 

The  famous  O’Connell  had  received  his  first  education  from  a “ hedge 
schoolmaster,”  and,  after  further  training  under  a Roman  Catholic  priest 
in  County  Cork,  was  sent,  1790,  to  the  English  college  at  St.  Omer.  His 
school  reputation  was  very  high,  but  he  was  driven  home  prematurely  by 
the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  and  in  1794  entered  as  law  student  at  Lin- 
coln’s Inn.  In  1798  he  was  called  to  the  bar,  and  it  was  the  boast  of  his 
later  career,  as  an  advocate  of  the  repeal  of  the  union  with  England,  that 
his  first  public  speech  was  delivered  at  a meeting  in  Dublin,  convened  to 
protest  against  that  projected  measure.  The  Roman  Catholic  party  having 
rallied  from  the  prostration  into  which  it  had  been  thrown  through  the 
rebellion  of  1798  and  its  consequences,  O’Connell  was  drawn  into  public 
political  life.  In  all  important  meetings  of  his  co-religionists  his  unques- 
tioned ability  soon  made  him  a leader.  He  was  an  active  member  of  all 


THE  ENGLAND  OF  GEORGE  IV 


107 


the  successive  associations  which,  under  various  names,  Catholic  Board,” 
“ Catholic  Committee,”  “ Catholic  Association,”  etc.,  were  organized  to 
procure  the  repeal  of  the  civil  disabilities  of  the  Roman  Catholic  body. 
Of  the  Catholic  Association  he  was  the  originator ; and  though  his 
supremacy  in  its  councils  was  occasionally  challenged  by  some  aspiring 
associates,  he  continued  almost  supreme  until  its  dissolution.  By  means 
of  this  association,  and  the  “ Catholic  Rent,”  which  it  was  enabled  to  raise, 
he  created  so  formidable  an  organization  throughout  Ireland,  that  it  gradu- 
ally became  apparent  that  the  desired  measure  of  relief  could  not  longer  be 
safely  withheld ; and  the  crisis  was  precipitated  by  the  bold  expedient 
adopted  b}^  O’Connell,  of  procuring  himself  to  be  elected  member  of  Par- 
liament of  Clare  in  1828,  notwithstanding  his  well-known  legal  incapacity 
to  serve  in  Parliament,  in  consequence  of  his  being  obliged  to  refuse  the 
prescribed  oaths  of  abjuration  and  supremacy,  which  refusal  then  was  made 
the  ground  of  the  exclusion  of  Roman  Catholics  from  the  legislature.  This 
decisive  step  towards  the  settlement  of  the  question,  though  it  failed  to 
procure  for  O’Connell  admission  to  Parliament,  led  to  discussions  within 
the  house,  and  to  agitations  outside,  so  formidable  indeed,  that  in  the  begin- 
ning of  1829,  Duke  of  Wellington  and  Sir  Robert  Peel  found  it  expe- 
dient to  give  way ; and,  deserting  their  former  party,  they  introduced  and 
carried  through,  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  the  well-known  measure  of 
Roman  Catholic  emancipation.  O’Connell  was  at  once  re-elected,  and  took 
his  seat  for  Clare,  and  continued  in  Parliament  until  his  death. 

This  seems  to  be  the  place  to  attempt  an  analysis  of  this  extraordinary 
man,  setting  down  the  good  and  the  evil  each  in  its  due  proportion.  The 
best  description  of  him  compressible  in  a few  words  is  Balzac’s  : “ He  was 
the  incarnation  of  an  entire  people.”  Nothing  can  be  truer.  Not  only  was 
he  Irish  of  the  Irish,  but  Celt  of  the  Celts,  every  quality,  every  character- 
istic, good,  bad,  lovable,  or  the  reverse  which  belongs  to  the  type  being 
found  in  him,  only  on  an  immense  scale.  To  the  average  Irishman  of  his 
day  he  stands  as  Mont  Blanc  might  stand  were  it  set  down  amongst  the 
Magillicudy  Reeks.  He  towers,  that  is  to  say,  above  his  contemporaries 
not  by  inches,  but  by  head  and  shoulders.  His  aims,  hopes,  enthusiasms 
were  theirs,  but  the  effective,  controlling  power  was  his  alone.  He  had  a 
great  cause  and  he  availed  himself  greatly  of  it,  and  to  this  and  to  the  mag- 
netic and  all  but  magical  influence  of  his  personality,  that  extraordinary 
influence  which  he  for  so  many  years  wielded  is  no  doubt  due. 

Let  us  summarize  the  views  of  the  Hon.  Emily  Lawless — O’ConnelPs 
most  penetrating  critic  : two  points  must  be  set  down,  since  both  are  of 


108 


THE  ENGLAND  OF  GEORGE  IV 


great  importance  to  tlie  future  of  Ireland,  and  for  botli  O’Connell  is  clearly 
responsible — wlietlier  we  regard  them  as  amongst  bis  merits  or  the  reverse. 
He  first,  and,  as  it  lias  been  proved,  permanently  brought  the  priest  into 
politics,  with  the  unavoidable  result  of  accentuating  the  religious  side  of 
the  contest  and  bringing  it  into  a focus.  The  bitterness  which  three  gener- 
ations of  the  penal  code  had  engendered  only,  in  fact,  broke  out  then.  The 
hour  of  comparative  freedom  is  often — certainly  not  alone  in  Ireland — the 
hour  when  the  sense  of  past  oppression  first  reveals  itself  in  all  its  intensity, 
and  that  biting  consciousness  of  being  under  a social  ban  which  grew  up  in 
the  last  century  is  hardly  even  yet  extinct  there,  and  certainly  was  not 
extinct  in  O’Connell’s  time.  Another,  and  an  equally  important  effect  is 
also  due  to  him.  He  effectually,  and  as  it  has  proved,  finally,  snapped 
that  tie  of  feudal  feeling  which,  if  weakened,  still  undoubtedly  existed,  and 
which  was  felt  towards  the  landlord  of  English  extraction  litttle  less  than 
tow'ards  the  few  remaining  Celtic  ones.  The  failings  of  the  upper  classes 
of  Ireland  of  his  day,  and  long  before  his  day,  there  is  no  need  to  extenu- 
ate, but  it  must  not  in  fairness  be  forgotten  that  what  seems  to  our  soberer 
judgment  the  worst  of  those  failings — their  insane  extravagance,  their 
exalted,  often  ludicrously  inflated  notions  of  their  own  relative  importance; 
their  indifference  to,  sometimes  open  hostility  to,  the  law — all  were  bonds 
of  union  and  sources  of  pride  to  their  dependents  rather  than  the  other  way. 
It  needed  a yet  stronger  impulse — that  of  religious  enthusiasm — to  break 
so  deeply  rooted  and  inherent  a sentiment.  When  that  spark  was  kindled 
every  other  fell  away  before  it. 

As  regards  England,  unfortunately,  the  concession  of  emancipation  was 
spoiled  not  merely  by  the  sense  that  it  was  granted  to  force  rather  than  to 
conviction,  but  even  more  to  the  intense  bitterness  and  dislike  with  which 
it  was  regarded  by  a large  proportion  of  English  Protestants.  A new  reli- 
gious life  and  a new  sense  of  religious  responsibility  was  making  itself 
widely  felt  there.  The  eighteenth  century,  with  its  easy-going  indifferent- 
ism,  had  passed  away,  and  one  of  the  effects  of  this  new  revival  was  unhap- 
pily to  reawaken  in  many  conscientious  breasts  much  of  the  old  and  half- 
extinct  horror  of  Popery,  a horror  which  found  its  voice  in  a language  of 
intolerance  and  bigotry  which  at  the  present  time  seems  scarcely  conceiv- 
able. Let  us  anticipate. 

The  years  which  followed  were  chiefly  marked  by  a succession  of 
efforts  upon  O’Connell’s  part  to  procure  repeal.  An  association  which  had 
been  formed  by  him  for  tliis  purpose  was  put  down  by  the  Government  in 
1830,  but  the  next  year  it  was  reformed  under  a new  name,  and  at  the  gen- 


THE  ENGLAND  OF  GEORGE  IV 


109 


eral  election  in  that  year  forty  members  were  returned  pledged  to  support  Re- 
peal. The  condition  of  Ireland  was  meanwhile  miserable  in  the  extreme.  A 
furious  tithe  war  was  raging,  and  many  outrages  had  been  committed,  espe- 
cially against  tithe  proctors,  the  class  of  men  who  were  engaged  in  collect- 
ing the  tax.  Ribbon  associations  and  other  secret  societies,  too,  had  been 
spreading  rapidly  underground.  Of  such  societies  O’Connell  was  through 
life  the  implacable  enemy.  The  events  of  1798  and  1803  had  left  an  indeli- 
ble impression  on  his  mind.  The  “ United  Irishmen,”  in  his  own  words, 
taught  me  that  all  work  for  Ireland  must  be  done  openly  and  above 
board.”  The  end  of  the  tithe  struggle,  however,  was  happily  approaching. 
In  1838  an  Irish  Tithes  Commutation  Act  was  at  last  carried,  and  a land 
tax  in  the  form  of  a permanent  rent  charge  substituted. 

Repeal  was  now  more  than  ever  the  question  of  the  hour,  and  to  Repeal 
henceforward  O’Connell  devoted  his  entire  energies.  In  1840  the  Loyal 
National  Repeal  Association  was  founded,  and  a permanent  place  of  meeting 
known  as  Conciliation  Hall,  established  for  it  in  Dublin.  1841,  O’Connell 
had  early  announced,  would  be  known  henceforward  as  the  year  of  Repeal, 
and  accordingly  he  that  year  left  England  and  went  to  Ireland,  and  devoted 
himself  there  to  the  work  of  organization.  A succession  of  monster  meet- 
ings were  held  all  over  the  country,  the  far-famed  one  on  Tara  Hill  being, 
as  is  credibly  asserted,  attended  by  no  less  than  a quarter  of  a million  of 
people.  Over  this  vast  multitude  gathered  together  around  him  the  magic 
tones  of  the  great  orator’s  voice  swept  triumphantly  ; awakening  anger, 
grief,  passion,  delight,  laughter,  tears,  at  its  own  pleasure.  They  were  aston- 
ishing triumphs,  but  they  were  dearly  bought.  The  position  was,  in  fact, 
an  impossible  one  to  maintain  long.  O’Connell  had  carried  the  whole  mass  of 
the  people  with  him  up  to  the  very  brink  of  the  precipice,  but  how  to  bring 
them  safely  and  successfully  down  again  was  more  than  ever  he  could 
accomplish.  Resistance  he  had  always  steadily  denounced,  yet  every  day 
his  own  words  seemed  to  be  bringing  the  inevitable  moment  of  collision 
nearer  and  nearer.  The  crisis  came  on  October  5.  A meeting  had  been  sum- 
moned to  meet  at  Cloutarf,  near  Dublin,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  4th,  the 
Government  suddenly  came  to  the  resolution  of  issuing  a proclamation  for- 
bidding it  to  assemble.  The  risk  was  a formidable  one  for  responsible  men 
to  run.  Many  of  the  people  were  already  on  their  way,  and  on]y  O’Con- 
nell’s own  rapid  and  vigorous  measures  in  sending  out  in  all  directions  to 
intercept  them,  hindered  the  actual  shedding  of  blood.  His  prosecution  and 
that  of  some  of  his  principal  adherents,  was  the  next  important  event.  By 
a Dublin  jury  he  was  found  guilty,  sentenced  to  two  years’  imprisonment, 


110 


THE  ENGLAND  OF  GEORGE  IV 


and  conveyed  to  prison,  still  earnestly  entreating  the  people  to  remain  quiet, 
an  order  which  they  strictly  obeyed.  The  jury  by  which  he  had  been  con- 
demned was  known  to  be  strongly  biased  against  him,  and  an  appeal  had 
been  forwarded  against  his  sentence  to  the  House  of  Lords.  So  strong 
there,  too,  was  the  feeling  against  O’Connell,  that  little  expectation  was  en- 
tertained of  its  being  favorably  received.  Greatly  to  its  honor,  however,  the 
sentence  was  reversed  and  he  was  set  free.  His  imprisonment  had  been  of 
the  lightest  and  least  onerous  description  conceivable  ; indeed,  was  ironically 
described  by  Mitchell,  shortly  afterward,  as  that  of  a man  “ addressed  by 
bishops,  complimented  by  Americans,  bored  by  deputations,  serenaded  by 
bands,  comforted  by  ladies,  half  smothered  by  roses,  half  drowned  in  cham- 
pagne.” The  enthusiasm  shown  at  his  release  was  frantic  and  delirious. 
None  the  less  those  months  in  Richmond  prison  proved  the  death  knell  of 
his  power.  He  was  an  old  man  by  this  time ; he  was  already  weakened  in 
health,  and  that  buoyancy  which  had  hitherto  carried  him  over  aii}^  and 
every  obstacle,  never  again  revived.  The  “Young  Ireland”  party,  the 
members  of  which  had  in  the  first  instance  been  his  allies  and  lieutenants, 
had  now  formed  a distinct  section,  and  upon  the  vital  question  of  resistance 
were  in  fierce  hostility  to  all  his  most  cherished  principles.  The  state  of 
the  country,  too,  preyed  visibly  upon  his  mind.  By  1846  had  begun  that 
succession  of  disastrous  seasons  which,  by  destro^dng  the  feeble  barrier 
which  stood  between  the  peasant  and  a cruel  death,  brought  about  a national 
tragedy,  the  most  terrible  perhaps  with  which  modern  Europe  has  been  con- 
fronted. 

This  tragedy,  though  he  did  not  live  to  see  the  whole  of  it,  O’Connell — 
himself  the  incarnation  of  the  people — felt  acutely.  Deep  despondency  took 
hold  of  him.  He  retired,  to  a great  degree,  from  public  life,  leaving  the 
conduct  of  his  organization  in  the  hands  of  others.  Few  more  tragic  posi- 
tions have  been  described  or  can  be  conceived  than  that  of  this  old  m^n — so 
loved,  so  hated,  so  reverenced,  so  detested — who  had  been  so  audaciously, 
triumphantly  successful  in  his  day,  and  round  whom  the  shadows  of  night 
were  now  gathering  so  blackly  and  so  swiftly.  Despair  was  tightening  its 
grip  round  the  hearts  of  all  Irishmen,  and  it  found  its  strongest  hold  upon 
the  heart  of  the  greatest  Irishman  of  his  age.  Nothing  speaks  more 
eloquently  of  the  total  change  of  situation  than  the  pity  and  respectful 
consideration  extended  at  this  time  to  O’Connell  by  men  who  only  recently 
had  exhausted  every  possibility  of  vituperation  in  abuse  of  the  burly  dema- 
gogue. In  1847  resolved  to  leave  Ireland,  and  to  end  his  days  in  Rome. 
His  last  public  appearance  was  in  the  House  of  Commons,  where  an  atten- 


THE  ENGLAND  OF  GEORGE  IV 


111 


tive  and  deeply-respectful  audience  hung  upon  the  faltering  and  barely 
articulate  accents  which  fell  from  his  lips.  In  a few  deeply  moving  words 
he  appealed  for  aid  and  sympathy  for  his  suffering  countrymen,  and  left 
the  House ; within  a few  months  he  had  died  at  Genoa.  Such  a bare  sum- 
mary leaves  necessarily  whole  regions  of  the  subject  unexplored,  but,  let 
the  final  verdict  of  history  on  O’Connell  be  what  it  may,  that  he  loved  his 
country  passionately,  and  with  an  absolute  disinterestedness  no  pen  has 
ever  been  found  to  question,  nor  can  we  doubt  that  whatever  else  may  have 
hastened  his  end  it  was  the  Famine  killed  him,  almost  as  surely  as  it  did 
the  meanest  of  its  victims.  • 

In  1823,  African  Expedition  of  Denham  and  Clapperton  reached 
Lake  Tchad — a not  especially  interesting,  but  highly  important  event,  as 
constituting  an  advance  in  England’s  designs  upon  Africa. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


(THIRD  DECADE) 

CONTINENTAL  INSURRECTIONS  AND  INTRIGUES 


\_RSsumi. — The  Congress  of  Vienna  aimed  to  destroy  the  ideas  of  the  French  Revolution ; to  put  Europe 
back  where  it  was  in  1789.  Austria  became  the  foremost  figure  on  the  Continent,  the  evil  genius  of 
Germany  and  Italy  ; and  Austria  was  Metternich.] 

WE  have  seen  how  Metternich,  the  Prime  Minister  of  Austria,  became 
the  “ Mephistopheles  of  European  politics.”  While  Stein  was 
vainly  trying  to  form  a united  German  fatherland,  and  Talle3nand 
was  scheming  to  restore  France  to  a place  of  influence  among  the  great 
powers,  Metternich  was  content  to  keep  Austria  passive  by  a comprehensive 
S3bstem  of  police  espionage,  and  to  keep  the  rest  of  Europe  in  accord  by  his 
skilful  diplomacy. 

The  Bourbons,  returning  to  France  in  the  train  of  the  conquerors,  were 
forcibly  restored  to  the  high  place  from  which  the  nation  had  flung  them  a 
quarter  of  a century  before.  The  reign  of  Louis  XVIII  was  neither  a peace- 
ful nor  happy  one.  The  nation  was  humiliated  and  impoverished.  In  the 
first  reaction  of  the  restoration  numerous  murders  of  Bonapartists  occurred 
in  the  southern  provinces ; but  soon  another  and  a sharper  reaction  set  in 
among  the  unstable  people.  The  Bonapartist  faction,  bereaved  of  honor 
and  emolument,  missed  no  opportunity  to  promote  the  general  discontent. 
For  da^^s  the  Paris  mob  waged  incessant  w^ar  with  the  troops  ; the  provinces 
were  in  open  insurrection  ; a Bonapartist  fanatic  stabbed  to  death  the  Duke 
de  Berri,  heir  to  the  throne.  After  a reign  of  eight  years  Louis  XVIII 
died,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  younger  brother,  Charles  X — at  first  a 
popular  king,  but  soon  to  sacrifice  his  popularity,  his  throne,  and  even  the 
Bourbon  d^niasty,  through  his  superstitions  piety  and  the  hateful  domination 
of  the  emigre  nobles  and  the  priests.  A sum  of  $200,000,000  was  given 
from  the  public  treasury  to  reimburse  the  emigrant  noblesse  for  their  conns- 
112 


CONTINENTAL  INSURRECTIONS  AND  INTRIGUES 


113 


cated  lands  ; and  royal  favor  was  extended  to  the  monastic  orders,  although 
their  existence  in  France  was  illegal.  In  1829  Charles  gave  up  the  pretense 
of  cabinet  government,  and  so  brought  to  a head  the  revolution  of  July^  1^30. 

Of  all  the  Bourbons  who  were  restored  to  their  thrones  Ferdinand  of 
Spain  was  perhaps  the  most  detestable.  He  subverted  the  constitution 
adopted  by  the  Spanish  patriots,  and  the  Inquisition  and  the  priests  became 
the  real  sovereign.  In  1820  there  was  a general  revolt  of  the  people;  the 
constitution  was  again  proclaimed,  and  Ferdinand  compelled  to  swear  to  its 
observance.  This  reaction,  however,  alarmed  Europe,  and  a French  army, 
in  1823,  overthrew  the  liberal  Spanish  government  and  restored  Ferdinand 
to  the  exercise  of  his  bloody  despotism.  “ There  was  another  Ferdinand  in 
Naples,”  writes  Professor  Judson,  “uncle  of  the  Spanish  king  and  a true 
Bourbon.  When  the  news  of  the  Spanish  insurrection  reached  Southern 
Italy  revolt  broke  out  there  also,  and  the  Spanish  constitution,  adopted  by 
the  revolutionists,  was  accepted  by  the  king,  who  solemnly  swore  to  observe 
it.  Then  he  quietly  wrote  to  the  Emperor  of  Austria  that  he  had  no  idea 
at  all  of  keeping  his  oath.  And  in  the  following  year  an  Austrian  army 
entered  Naples,  overthrew  the  constitutionalists  and  replaced  the  king  on 
his  absolute  throne.”  In  the  spring  of  1821  insurrection  in  behalf  of  a 
constitutional  government  broke  out  in  Piedmont.  The  Austrians  sub- 
dued it  also ; and  thus  Austria  and  France,  in  turn,  became  the  agents  of 
absolutism  to  crush  attempts  at  revolution. 

Several  secret  political  unions  were  formed  at  this  time  in  France  and 
confederated  with  the  famous  “ Carbonari  ” (colliers  or  charcoal-burners). 
After  the  close  of  the  French  and  Spanish  war  the  Carbonari,  whose  activity 
in  contriving  plots  had  excited  the  terror  of  the  French  prefects,  restricted 
their  endeavors  to  the  circulation  of  republican  ideas  without  direct  attempts 
at  insurrection  ; and,  following  the  July  revolution,  the  society  was  gradually 
dissolved. 

The  Carbonari  acted  in  two  ways  ; by  what  they  did  and  by  what  they 
caused  to  be  done  by  others  who  were  outside  their  society,  and  perhaps 
unfavorable  to  it,  but  who  were  none  the  less  sensible  of  the  pressure  it 
exercised.  The  origin  of  Carbonarism  has  been  sought  in  vain ; as  a 
specimen  of  the  childish  fables  that  once  passed  for  its  history  may  be 
noticed  the  legend  that  Francis  I,  of  France,  once  stumbled  on  a charcoal 
burner’s  hut  when  hunting  “ on  the  frontiers  of  his  kingdom  next  to 
Scotland,”  and  was  initiated  into  the  rites  similar  to  those  in  use  among 
the  sectaries  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Those  rites  referred  to  vengeance 
which  was  to  be  taken  on  the  wolf  that  slew  the  lamb ; the  wolf  standing 


114 


CONTINENTAL  INSURRECTIONS  AND  INTRIGUES 


for  tyrants  and  oppressors,  and  the  lamb  for  Jesus  Christ,  the  sinless  victim, 
by  whom  all  the  oppressed  were  represented.  The  Carbonari  themselves 
generally  believed  that  they  were  heirs  to  an  organization  started  in  Ger- 
many before  the  eleventh  century,  under  the  name  of  the  Faith  of  the 
Kohlen — Brenners,  of  which  Theobald  de  Brie,  who  was  afterward  canon- 
ized, was  a member.  Theobald  was  adopted  as  patron  saint  of  the  modern 
society,  and  his  fancy  portrait  figured  in  all  the  lodges.  The  religions 
symbolism  of  the  Carbonari,  their  oaths  and  ceremonies,  and  the  axes, 
blocks,  and  other  furniture  of  the  initiatory  chamber,  were  well  calculated 
to  impress  the  poorer  and  more  ignorant  and  excitable  of  the  brethren.  The 
Vatican  affected  to  believe  that  Carbonarism  was  an  offshoot  of  Freemasonry, 
but  in  spite  of  sundry  points  of  resemblance,  such  as  the  engagements  of 
mutual  help  assumed  by  members,  there  seems  to  have  been  no  real  con- 
nection between  the  two. 

A Genoese  of  the  name  of  Malghella,  who  was  Murat’s  Minister  of 
Police,  was  the  first  person  to  give  a powerful  impetus  to  Carbonarism,  of 
which  he  has  even  been  called  the  inventor,  but  the  inference  goes  too  far. 
jMalghella  ended  miserably  ; after  the  fall  of  Murat  he  was  arrested  by  Aus- 
trians, who  consigned  him  as  a new  subject  to  the  Sardinian  government, 
which  immediately  put  him  in  prison.  His  name  is  hardly  known,  but  no 
Italian  of  his  time  worked  more  assiduously,  or  in  some  respects  more  in- 
telligently, for  the  emancipation  of  Italy.  The  Romagnols  invested  Car- 
bonarism with  the  wild  intensity  of  their  own  temperament,  resolute  even  to 
crime,  but  capable  of  supreme  impersonal  enthusiasm.  The  ferment  of 
expectancy  that  prevailed  in  Romagna  is  reflected  in  the  Letters  and 
Journals  of  Lord  Byron,  whom  young  Count  Pietro  Gamba  made  a Car- 
bonaro  ; and  who  looked  forward  to  seeing  Italians  send  the  barbarians  of  all 
nations  back  to  their  own  dens,  as  to  the  most  interesting  spectacle  and 
moment  in  existence.  His  lower  apartments,  he  writes,  were  full  of  the 
bayonets,  fusils  and  cartridges  of  his  Carbonari  cronies.  “ I suppose  that 
they  consider  me  as  a depot,  to  be  sacrificed  in  case  of  accidents.  It  is  no 
great  matter,  supposing  that  Italy  could  be  liberated,  who  or  what  is  sacri- 
ficed. It  is  a grand  object — the  very  poetry  of  politics.  Only  think — a free 
Italy  ! ! ! Why,  there  has  been  nothing  like  it  since  the  days  of  Augustus.” 
The  movement  on  which  such  great  hopes  were  set  was  to  begin  in  the  king- 
dom of  Naples  in  the  spring  of  1820.  The  concession  of  the  hard-won 
Spanish  Constitution  in  the  month  of  March  encouraged  the  Neapolitans  to 
believe  that  they  might  get  a like  boon  from  their  own  king  if  the}^  directed 
all  the  forces  at  their  command  to  this  single  end.  To  avoid  being  compro- 


Tmel5ultan 
^ TURKEY 


Li  LjUf^GChAMG 


^^t/v)PEROi^ 

(Japan 


THt^HAH  OF  P£f^6tA- 


EASTERN  P 0 T E N T A T E S . 

L)  Hung  Chang,  now  an  aged  man,  has  long  been  the  Abdul  Hamid  II  became  Sultan  of  Turkey  in  1876. 

“power  behind  the  throne”  in  China,  where  the  Mutsuhito  became  Mikado  of  .lapan  in  1867. 

Dowager  Empress  is  the  real  ruler.  Muzafer  ed  Din  became  Shah  of  Persia  in  1690. 

Khoulalougkorn  became  King  of  Siam  in  1868. 


contiueutal  Greece  was  freed,  and  Turkey  recognized  its  independence  in  1830. 


CONTINENTAL  INSURRECTIONS  AND  INTRIGUES 


115 


mised,  they  sought  rather  to  dissociate  themselves  from  the  patriots  of  other 
parts  of  Italy  than  to  co-operate  with  them  in  a united  effort.  The  Car- 
bonari of  the  Neapolitan  kingdom,  who  were  the  entire  authors  of  the 
revolution,  had  good  cause  for  thinking  that  they  were  in  a position  to  dic- 
tate terms  ; the  mistake  they  made  was  to  suppose  that  a charter  conceded 
by  a Bourbon  of  Naples  could  ever  be  worth  the  paper  on  which  it  was 
written. 

The  Neapolitans  got  their  liberties,  but  they  soon  found  themselves 
face  to  face  with  perplexities  which  would  have  taxed  the  powers  of  men 
both  wiser  and  more  experienced  in  free  government  than  the}^  were.  In 
the  first  place,  although  a revolution  may  be  made  by  a set,  a government 
cannot  be  carried  on  by  one.  The  Carbonari  who  had  won  the  day  were 
blind  to  this  self-evident  truth  ; and,  to  make  matters  worse,  there  was  a 
split  in  their  party,  some  of  them  being  disposed  to  throw  off  the  Bourbon 
yoke  altogether ; a natural  desire,  but  as  it  was  only  felt  by  a minorit}^,  it 
added  to  the  general  confusion.  Then  came,  as  it  was  sure  to  come,  the  cry 
for  separation  from  Sicily.  The  Sicilians  wanted  back  the  violated  consti- 
tution obtained  for  them  by  the  English  in  1812,  and  would  have  nothing 
to  do  with  that  offered  them  from  Naples.  In  every  one  of  the  struggles 
between  Sicily  and  Naples,  it  is  impossible  to  refuse  sympath}^  to  the 
islanders,  who,  in  the  pride  of  their  splendid  independent  history,  deemed 
themselves  the  victims  of  an  inferior  race;  but  it  is  equally  impossible  to 
ignore  that,  politically,  they  were  in  the  wrong.  In  union,  and  in  union 
alone,  lay  the  only  chance  of  resisting  the  international  plot  to  keep  the 
South  Italian  populations  in  perpetual  bondage.  The  Sicilian  revolt  was  put 
down  at  first  mildly,  and,  finally,  as  mildness  had  no  effect,  with  the  usual 
violence  by  the  Neapolitan  constitutional  government,  which  could  not 
avoid  losing  credit  and  popularity  in  the  operation.  Meanwhile,  the  three 
persons  who  treated  under  the  name  of  Europe  met  at  Troppau,  and  came 
readily  to  the  conclusion  that  “ the  sovereigns  of  the  Holy  Alliance  exer- 
cised an  incontestable  right  in  taking  common  measures  of  securit}^  against 
states  which  the 'overthrow  of  authority  by  revolt  placed  in  a hostile  attitude 
towards  every  legitimate  government.”  The  assumption  was  too  broadly 
stated,  even  for  Lord  Castlereagh’s  acceptance ; but  he  was  contented  to 
make  a gentle  protest,  which  he  further  nullified  b}^  allowing  that,  in  the 
present  case,  intervention  was  very  likely  justified. 

France  expressed  no  disapproval.  Only  the  Netherlands,  Switzerland, 
Sweden,  and  Spain  gave  the  constitutional  regime  tacit  support  by  recog- 
nizing it.  The  Emperor  of  Russia  was  very  anxious  to  take  part  in  the 


116 


CONTINENTAL  INSURRECTIONS  AND  INTRIGUES 


business,  and  would  Have  sent  off  an  army  instantly  had  not  his  royal 
brother  of  Prussia  hesitated  to  consent  to  the  inconvenience  of  a Cossack 
inarch  through  his  territory.  The  work  was  left,  therefore,  to  the  Emperor 
of  Austria.  Before  entering  upon  it,  however,  it  occurred  to  these  three  to 
invite  the  King  of  Naples  to  meet  them  at  Laybach.  They  knew  his  char- 
acter. 

Ferdinand  assured  his  Parliament  that  he  was  going  to  Laybach  solely 
to  induce  the  Holy  Alliance  to  think  better  of  its  opposition,  and  to  agree, 
at  least,  to  all  the  principal  features  of  the  new  state  of  things.  Most  fool- 
ishly the  Parliament,  which,  according  to  the  Constitution,  might  have 
vetoed  his  leaving  the  country,  let  him  go.  Before  starting  he  wrote  an 
open  letter  to  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Calabria,  who  was  appointed  Regent,  in 
which  he  said:  “I  shall  defend  the  events  of  the  past  July  before  the 
Congress.  I firmly  desire  the  Spanish  Constitution  for  my  kingdom ; and 
although  I rely  on  the  justice  of  the  assembled  sovereigns,  and  on  their  old 
friendship,  still  it  is  well  to  tell  you  that,  in  whatever  circumstance  it  may 
please  God  to  place  me,  my  course  will  be  what  I have  manifested  on  this 
sheet,  strong  and  unchangeable  either  by  force  or  by  flattery  of  others.” 
News  came  in  due  time  of  the  sequel.  On  the  9th  of  February,  1821,  the 
Regent  received  a letter  from  the  King,  in  which  he  gave  the  one  piece  of 
advice  that  the  people  should  submit  to  their  fall  quietly.  He  was  coming 
back  with  fifty  thousand  Austrians,  and  a Russian  army  was  ready  to  start 
if  wanted.  Nevertheless,  to  prevent  a sudden  outbreak  before  the  foreign 
troops  arrived,  the  Regent  carried  on  a game  of  duplicity  to  the  last,  and 
pretended  to  second,  whilst  he  really  baulked,  the  preparations  for  resistance 
decreed  by  Parliament.  The  closing  scene  is  soon  told.  On  the  7th  of 
March,  in  the  mountains  near  Rieti,  General  Guglielnio  Pepe,  with  eight 
thousand  regular  troops  and  a handful  of  militia,  encountered  an  over- 
whelmingl}^  superior  force  of  Austrians.  The  Neapolitans  stood  out  well 
for  six  hours,  but  on  the  Austrian  reserves  coming  up,  they  were  completely 
routed,  and  obliged  to  fly  in  all  directions.  Order  reigned  in  the  kingdom 
of  Naples. 

The  Neapolitan  revolution  had  just  collapsed,  when  another  broke  out 
in  Piedmont,  which,  though  short  in  duration,  was  to  have  far-reaching  con- 
sequences. At  that  time  the  King  of  Sardinia  was  Victor  Emmanuel  I, 
who  succeeded  his  brother,  Charles  Emmanuel  in  1820,  when  the  latter 
abdicated  and  retired  to  Rome,  where  he  joined  the  Society  of  Jesus.  Victor 
Emmanuers  only  son  was  dead,  and  the  throne  would  devolve  on  his 
youngest  brother,  Charles  Felix,  Duke  of  Genoa,  whom  reasons  of  state 


CONTINENTAL  INSURRECTIONS  AND  INTRIGUES 


117 


led  to  abandon  the  wish  to  become  a monk,  which  he  had  formed  as  a boy 
of  eleven,  on  being  taken  to  visit  a convent  near  Turin.  But  Charles  Felix, 
though  married,  was  without  children,  and  the  legitimate  heir-presumptive 
was  Charles  Albert,  Prince  of  Carignano,  who  represented  the  younger 
branch  of  the  family,  which  divided  from  the  main  line  in  the  early  part  of 
the  seventeenth  century.  Charles  Albert’s  father  was  the  luckless  Prince 
Charles  of  Carignano,  who,  alone  of  his  house,  came  to  terms  with  Napoleon, 
who  promised  him  a pension,  which  was  not  paid.  His  mother,  a Saxon 
princess,  paraded  the  streets  of  Turin  dressed  in  the  latest  republican 
fashion,  with  her  infant  son  in  her  arms.  Afterwards,  she  gave  him  a mis- 
cellaneous education,  that  included  a large  dose  of  Rousseau  from  a Swiss 
professor.  The  boy  was  shifted  from  place  to  place,  happier  when  his  mother 
forgot  him,  than  when,  in  temporary  recollection  of  his  existence,  she  called 
him  to  her.  Once  when  he  was  traveling  with  the  princess  and  her  second 
husband,  M.  de  Montleart,  Charles  Albert  was  made  to  sit  on  the  box  of  the 
carriage,  in  a temperature  many  degrees  below  zero.  His  uncles  (as  the 
King  and  Charles  Felix  called  themselves,  though  they  were  his  cousins) 
heard  with  natural  horror  of  the  vagaries  of  the  Princess  of  Carignano,  and 
they  extended  their  antipathy  from  the  mother  to  the  son,  even  when  he  was  a 
child.  In  Victor  Emmanuel  this  antipathy  was  moderated  by  the  easy  good- 
nature of  his  character ; in  Charles  Felix  it  degenerated  into  an  intense 
hatred. 

In  Piedmont  Carbonarism  had  made  great  way  among  the  upper  classes 
and  among  the  young  officers  ; the  flower  of  the  country  was  enrolled  in  its 
ranks,  and  the  impatience  to  take  some  action  toward  procuring  free  insti- 
tutions for  themselves,  and  doing  something  for  their  Lombard  brothers, 
had  reached  fever  heat  in  the  spring  of  1821,  when  the  affairs  of  Naples 
were  creating  much  excitement.  The  principal  conspirators,  noble  young 
men,  full  of  unselfish  ardor,  were  chosen  friends  and  companions  of  the 
Prince  of  Carignano.  It  was  formerly  the  opinion  that  the}^  made  him  the 
confidant  of  their  plans  from  the  first,  that  he  was  one  of  them,  in  short — 
a Carbonaro,  bound  by  all  the  oaths  and  obligations  of  the  society.  The 
judgment  of  his  conduct  afterward  is,  of  course,  much  affected  by  this  point ; 
were  the  assumption  correct,  the  invectives  launched  against  him,  not  by 
any  means  only  by  republican  writers,  would  hardly  seem  excessive. 
But  by  the  light  of  documents  issued  in  recent  times,  it  appears  more  just 
as  well  as  more  charitable  to  suppose  that  Charles  Albert’s  complicity  was 
of  a much  less  precise  character.  A little  encouragement  from  a prince 
goes  a long  way.  According  to  his  own  account,  he  was  taken  by  surprise 


118 


CONTINENTAL  INSURRECTIONS  AND  INTRIGUES 


when,  on  the  2d  or  3d  of  March,  his  friends,  Carail,  Collegno,  Santa  Rosa, 
and  Lisio,  came  to  tell  him  in  secret  that  they  belonged  to  societies  which 
had  been  long  working  for  the  independence  of  Italy,  and  that  they  reckoned 
on  him,  knowing  well  his  affection  for  his  country,  to  aid  them  in  obtaining 
from  the  King  some  few  first  concessions,  which  would  be  the  prelude  of  a 
glorious  future.  It  is  clear  that  he  ought  either  to  have  broken  from  them 
alogether  from  that  moment  or  to  have  cast  his  lot  with  them  for  good  or 
evil.  He  tried  a middle  course.  He  induced  the  conspirators  to  put  off  the 
revolution  by  which  they  intended  to  enforce  their  demands,  and  he  con- 
veyed to  the  King  information  of  what  had  happened,  asking  at  the  same 
time  that  no  measures  should  be  taken  against  incriminated  persons.  In 
fact  no  precautions  of  any  kind  seemed  to  have  been  taken.  Victor 
Emmanuel,  frightened  at  first,  was  soon  reassured. 

The  revolution,  which  was  to  have  begun  on  the  8th,  actually  broke 
out  on  the  loth  of  March,  at  Alessandria,  where  the  counter  orders 
issued  at  Charles  Albert’s  request,  after  the  interview  just  described,  were 
not  obeyed.  The  garrison  ‘‘  pronounced  ” in  favor  of  the  Spanish  Consti- 
tution. It  was  now  impossible  to  draw  back.  From  Alessandria  the  revo- 
lution spread  to  the  capital.  The  bulk  of  the  army  sympathized  with  the 
movement,  and  relied  on  the  support  of  the  people.  “ The  greatest  ladies 
mixed  with  the  crowds  which  gathered  under  the  Carbonaro  flag — black, 
blue,  and  red.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were  a few  devoted  servants  of  the 
House  of  Savoy,  who  beheld  these  novelties  with  the  sensations  of  a quiet 
person  who  sees  from  his  window  the  breaking  loose  of  a menagerie.  Invin- 
cibly ignorant  of  all  that  was  really  inspiring  in  this  first  breath  of  freedom, 
the}^  saw  nothing  in  it  but  an  unwarrantable  attack  on  the  authority  of  their 
amiable,  if  weak,  old  king,  for  whom  they  would  gladly  have  shed  every  drop 
of  their  blood — not  from  the  rational  esteem  which  the  people  of  Italy,  like 
the  people  of  England  now  feel  for  their  sovereign,  but  from  pure  passion  of 
loyalty  which  made  the  cavalier  stand  blindly  by  his  prince,  whether  he  was 
good  or  bad,  in  the  right  or  in  the  wrong. 

Men  of  their  type  watched'  the  evolution  of  Piedmont  into  Italy  from 
first  to  last  with  the  same  presentiment  of  evil,  the  same  moral  incapacity 
of  appreciation.  A handful  of  these  loyal  servitors  hurried  to  Victor 
Emmanuel  to  offer  their  assistance.  Tlie^^  marshalled  their  troops  in  battle 
array  in  the  court^mrd  of  the  palace.  Their  arms  were  antiquated  pistols 
and  rapiers,  and  they  themselves  were  veterans,  some  of  them  eighty  years 
old,  mounted  on  dilapidated  steeds.  The  King  thanked  them,  but  declined 
their  services;  nor  \vould  he  give  carte  blanche  to  Captain  Raimondi,  who 


CONTINENTAL  INSURRECTIONS  AND  INTRIGUES 


119 


assured  him  that  with  his  own  company  he  could  suppress  the  insurrection 
if  invested  with  full  powers.  Soon  after  this  refusal,  a firing  of  guns 
announced  that  the  citadel  was  in  the  hands  of  the  insurgents.  The  troops 
within  and  without  fraternized ; it  was  a fine  moment  for  those  who  knew 
history  and  who  were  bent  in  their  hearts  on  driving  the  foreigner  out  of 
Italy.  Here  at  the  citadel  of  Turin,  during  the  siege  of  1706,  occurred  the 
memorable  deed  of  Pietro  Micca,  the  peasant-soldier,  who,  when  he  heard 
the  enemy  thundering  at  the  door  of  the  gallery,  thought  life  and  the  wel- 
come of  wife  and  child  and  the  happy  return  to  his  village  of  less  account 
than  duty,  and  fired  the  mine  which  sent  him  and  three  companies  of 
French  Grenadiers  to  their  final  reckoning.  After  vacillating  for  two  or 
three  days,  Victor  Emmanuel  abdicated  on  the  13th  of  March.  The  Queen 
desired  to  be  appointed  regent,  but,  to  her  intense  vexation,  the  appointment 
was  given  Charles  Albert.  A more  unenviable  honor  never  fell  to  the  lot 
of  man.  Deserted  by  the  ministers  of  the  crown,  who  resigned  in  a body, 
alone  in  the  midst  of  a triumphant  revolution,  appealed  to  in  the  name  of 
those  sentiments  of  patriotism  which  he  could  never  hear  invoked  unmoved, 
the  young  Prince  uttered  the  words  which  were  as  good  as  a surrender : “ I, 
too,  am  an  Italian  !”  That  evening  he  allowed  the  Spanish  Constitution  to 
be  proclaimed  subject  to  the  arrival  of  the  orders  of  the  new  King. 

The  new  King!  No  one  remembered  that  there  existed  such  a person. 
Nor  had  any  one  recollected  that  the  Spanish  constitution  abrogated  the 
Salic  law,  and  that  hence,  instead  of  a new  King,  they  had  a new  Queen — 
the  wife  of  the  Duke  of  Modena.  An  eminent  Turinese  jurisconsulist,  who 
was  probably  the  only  possessor  of  a copy  of  the  charter  in  the  town  which 
was  screaming  itself  hoarse  for  it,  divulged  this  awkward  discovery.  Several 
hours  were  spent  in  anxious  discussion,  when  the  brilliant  suggestion  was 
made  that  the  article  should  be  cancelled.  The  article  was  cancelled.  But 
Charles  Felix  could  not  be  disposed  of  so  easily.  The  news  of  the  late 
events  reached  him  at  Modena,  of  all  places  in  the  wmrld,  the  rallying-point 
of  the  Prince  of  Carignano’s  bitterest  foes.  He  was  not  long  in  sending  his 
orders.  He  repudiated  everything  that  had  been  done,  and  commanded 
Charles  Albert,  “ if  he  had  a drop  of  our  royal  blood  left  in  his  veins,”  to  leave 
the  capital  instantly  for  Novara,  where  he  was  to  await  his  further  instruc- 
tions. Charles  Albert  obeyed.  He  was  accompanied  on  this  journe}^ — or, 
as  it  may  be  called,  flight — by  such  of  his  troops  as  remained  loyal.  At 
Novara  he  found  a sentence  of  exile,  in  a fresh  order  to  quit  Piedmontese 
territory.  Tuscany  was  indicated  as  the  state  where  he  was  to  reside.  The 
Austrians  crossed  the  frontier  with  the  consent  of  the /King.  Charles 


120 


CONTINENTAL  INSURRECTIONS  AND  INTRIGUES 


Felix’s  opinion  of  Austria  has  been  already  given.  Another  time  he  said : 
“ Austria  is  a sort  of  bird-lime,  which,  if  yon  get  it  on  yonr  fingers,  yon  can 
never  rub  off.”  If  anything  was  needed  to  increase  his  loathing  for  the 
revolution,  it  was  the  necessity  in  which  it  placed  him,  as  he  thought  of 
calling  in  this  unloved  ally.  But  Charles  Felix  was  not  the  man  to 
hesitate.  Not  caring  a straw  for  the  privileges  of  wearing  a crown  himself, 
his  belief  in  the  divine  right  of  kings,  and  the  obligations  to  defend  it 
amounted  to  monomania. 

The  Austrian  offer  was  therefore  accepted.  On  her  part  Austria 
declined  the  obliging  proposal  of  the  Czar  of  a loan  of  one  hundred  thousand 
men.  She  felt  that  she  could  do  the  work  unaided,  nor  was  she  mistaken. 
On  the  8th  of  April  the  Constitutionalist  troops  which  marched  towards 
Novara,  sanguine  that  the  loyal  regiments  there  quartered  would  end  by 
joining  them,  were  met  by  an  armed  resistance,  in  which  the  newly-arrived 
Austrians  assisted.  Their  defeat  was  complete,  and  it  was  the  signal  of  the 
downfall  of  the  revolution.  The  leaders  retired  from  Turin  to  Alessandria, 
.and  thence  to  Genoa,  that  had  risen  last  and  was  last  to  submit.  Thus 
most  of  them  escaped  by  sea,  whieh  was  fortunate,  as  Charles  Felix  had  the 
will  to  establish  a White  Terror,  and  was  only  prevented  by  the  circum- 
stance that  nearly  all  the  proposed  victims  were  outside  his  kingdom. 
Capital  sentences  were  sent  after  them  by  the  folio ; there  was  hardly 
a noble  family  whieh  had  not  one  of  its  members  condemned  to  death. 
When  his  brother,  Vietor  Emmanuel,  recommended  mercy,  he  told  him  that 
he  was  entirely  ready  to  give  him  back  the  crown,  but  that  while  he  reigned 
he  should  reign  after  his  own  ideas.  He  seems  to  have  had  thoughts  of 
hanging  the  Prince  of  Carignano,  and  for  a long  time  he  seriously  meant  to 
devise  the  kingdom  to  his  son,  the  infant  Prince  Victor.  Thus  a new  set  of 
obstacles  arose  between  Charles  Albert  and  the  throne. 

Greece  was  a part  of  the  Turkish  empire  for  nearly  four  hundred  years. 
The  rule  of  the  Turk  in  Greece,  as  in  every  place  where  he  has  dominion, 
was  unjust  and  oppressive,  and  in  1820  the  Greeks  revolted  and  began  a 
struggle  for  independence.  The  first  outbreak,  led  by  Alexander  Ypsilanti 
in  the  northern  provinces,  terminated  disastrously,  but  fresh  insurrections 
occurred  all  over  the  country  soon  afterwards,  and  the  Turks  practiced  the 
greatest  barbarities  in  their  efforts  to  suppress  the  movement.  Marco 
Bozzaris,  one  of  the  most  famous  of  the  Greek  chieftains, — sometimes 
called  the  “ Leonidas  of  Modern  Greece,” — was  killed  in  1823  while  making 
a midnight  assault  upon  the  Turkish  camp  near  Missolonghi,  one  of  the 
chief  towns  in  insurrection.  The  battle  resulted  in  a decisive  victory  of  the 


CONTINENTAL  INSURRECTIONS  AND  INTRIGUES 


121 


Greeks  who  had  the  advantage  in  the  struggle  until  1825,  when  the  Sultan 
asked  and  obtained  aid  from  Egypt.  Missolonghi  was  taken  by  tke  Turks 
and  Egyptians  in  1826  after  a long  siege,  the  brave  defenders  having  suf- 
fered the  most  dreadful  hardships  from  famine  and  the  barbarities  of  the 
besiegers.  The  fall  of  Missolonghi  aroused  the  sympathy  of  European 
nations  for  the  struggling  Greeks ; and  England,  France,  and  Russia 
recognizing  the  independence  of  Greece,  sent  their  fleets  to  her  assistance. 
The  Turkish  and  Egyptian  fleets  were  encountered  in  the  Bay  of  Navarino, 
and  there  a great  battle  was  fought,  resulting  in  the  destruction  of  the 
Turko-Egyptian  squadron  (1827).  This  victory  delivered  Greece  from  her 
oppressors.  A republic  was  founded,  but  this  was  soon  transformed  into  a 
kingdom  by  the  allied  powers.  The  independence  of  Greece  was  acknowl- 
edged by  the  Ottoman  Porte  in  1829.  that  year  the  Russians  having 
defeated  the  Turks,  the  Peace  of  Adrianople  ceded  to  Russia  large  territory,, 
the  suzerainty  over  the  tribes  of  the  Caucasus,  and  a protectorate  over 
Moldavia  and  Wallachia. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


(THIRD  DECADE) 

BIRTH  OF  NEW  STATES  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  AMERICAS 

{^Resume. — Revolution  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  excited  the  attention  of  reactionary  Europe.  The 
Spanish-American  colonies,  one  by  one,  threw  off  the  yoke  of  King  Ferdinand  and  maintained  their 
liberties  by  force  of  arms.  The  central  figure  in  all  South  American  history  is  Bolivar.] 

Meanwhile  history  was  making  rapidly  in  the  vast  Spanish-Amer- 
ican possessions  to  the  south  of  the  United  States.  In  the  first 
place  the  ambitious  Iturbide  was  making  himself  imperial  master  of 
Mexico.  Born  1783  in  Valladolid,  Mexico,  the  son  of  a Biscayan  nobleman 
and  a wealthy  Creole,  this  adroit  adventurer,  when  the  first  insurrections 
broke  out  in  Mexico,  was  appointed  by  the  Viceroy  to  the  command  of  the 
militia  of  his  province,  and,  having  exceptional  military  ability,  was  suc- 
cessful against  the  insurgents.  He  afterwards,  however,  inclined  more  to 
the  cause  of  the  national  Mexican  independence,  and  being  intrusted  by  the 
Viceroy  with  the  command  of  the  army  in  1821,  he  went  over  to  the  rebels, 
having  found  it  impossible  to  obtain  from  Spain  a separate  constitution  for 
Mexico. 

In  May,  1822,  he  was  hailed  by  his  soldiers  as  Emperor,  ascended  the 
throne  as  Augustin  I,  and  the  Mexican  Congress  declared  the  crown  heredi- 
tary in  his  family.  He  ruled  rather  as  a despotic  than  a constitutional 
sovereign,  and  his  brief  reign  was  troublous,  coming  to  an  end  in  less  than  ^ 
a year  by  his  abdication.  He  received  from  the  congress  a yearly  pension 
of  about  $25,000  in  consideration  of  his  military  services  in  1820,  but  on 
condition  of  his  retiring  from  the  country.  Going  abroad  he  devised  in 
England  a plan  for  the  recovery  of  the  empire  he  had  surrendered,  and 
issued  a statement  to  the  effect  that  he  would  employ  whatever  influence  he 
might  obtain  on  his  return  to  Mexico  towards  the  introduction  into  that 
country’  of  British  political  institutions.  The  Mexican  Congress  immedi- 
122 


GROUP  OF  FAMOUS  PATRIOTS. 

Simon  Boliver,  Li'>erator  of  Central  America,  born  in  Louis  Kossuth,  of  Hungary,  born  in  1S02 ; diet!  in 
1783  ; died  in  1881.  1894. 

Guiseppe  Garibaldi,  Liberator  of  Italy,  born  in  18n7  ; Thaddeus  Koscius/.ko,  of  INdand,  born  in  175G;  died 

died  in  1882.  in  1817. 


PANORAMIC  VIEW  OF  NICARAGUA  CANAL  ROUTE. 


BIRTH  OF  NEW  STATES  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  AMERICAS  123 


ately  declared  liiui  an  outlaw,  and  forbade  liis  setting  foot  in  Mexico  on  pain 
of  death.  Ignorant  of  this  declaration,  Itnrbide  embarked  May  ii,  1824; 
landed  in  disguise  at  the  port  of  Soto-la-Marina,  July  14;  was  arrested  on 
the  17th,  and  incontinently  shot  to  death  at  Padilla  on  the  19th.  His  soldiers 
idolized  him,  and  he  is  said  to  have  had  a pleasing  manner  in  private  life ; 
yet  he  was  barbarous  enough  to  boast  in  an  official  dispatch  that  he  had 
honored  Good  Friday  by  shooting  three  hundred  of  his  enemies.  The 
Mexican  Congress  made  generous  provision  for  his  family,  and  more  than 
two  score  years  later  on  it  was  his  grandson,  Agustin,  whom  the  equally 
unfortunate  Maximilian,  Emperor  of  Mexico,  adopted  as  his  heir. 

Still  farther  south  lay  the  recalcitrant  colonies  of  Central  America. 
Being  nearly  as  populous  as  all  the  other  settlements  combined,  Guatemala 
gave  name  in  the  early  days  of  independence  to  the  confederation  which 
those  states  temporarily  formed  in  1824  j from  the  same  preeminence, 
it  had  given  name,  under  Spanish  dominion,  to  a still  more  extensive  region. 
Costa  Rica  was  included  in  Guatemala  and  held  as  a province  of  Spain  until 
it  became  a part  of  Iturbide’s  short-lived  Mexican  empire.  In  1823  united 
with  Guatemala,  San  Salvador,  Honduras,  Nicaragua,  and  the  territory  of 
Mosquitia  in  forming  the  Central  American  confederacy,  and  maintained 
this  relation  until  1840,  when  it  withdrew  and  proclaimed  itself  an  inde- 
pendent republic. 

The  revolt  of  the  Spanish  colonies  was  founded  on  the  need  of  inde- 
pendence for  free  development  and  sound  administration.  But  by  their 
whole  history  the  nations  of  South  America  were  unfitted  for  parliamentary 
government.  Bolivar  had  the  chief  share  in  expelling  the  Spaniards  and 
founding  a republican  dictatorship.  The  first  revolt  was  rendered  possible 
by  the  French  invasion  of  Spain,  but  the  great  earthquake  of  Caracas, 
looked  upon  as  God’s  vengeance  on  the  disloyal,  brought  about  a reaction 
fatal  to  the  republican  cause.  When  Bolivar  took  refuge  in  the  negro 
republic  of  Hayti  he  received  help  which  enabled  him  to  return  free  to  his 
country.  This  he  never  forgot  ; though  a noble  and  a large  slave  owner, 
he  immediately  on  landing,  proclaimed  the  freedom  of  the  blacks,  thereby 
alienating  the  rich  and  ruining  his  private  fortune;  nor  did  he  scruple  to 
annul  certain  acts  of  congress  intended  to  delay  emancipation.  Invited 
into  Pern,  he  drove  out  the  Spaniards  and  became  defender  of  the  Indians, 
hitherto  oppressed  by  all.  What  better  eulogy  could  be  passed  on  him 
than  that  he  was  everywhere  the  protector  of  the  oppressed  ? Bolivar  was 
a bad  general  and  a worse  administrator — not  himself  corrupt,  yet  caring 
little  for  the  corruption  of  his  favorites  ; but  he  had  great  insight  in  policy. 


124  BIRTH  OF  NEW  STATES  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  AMERICAS 


and  unexampled  callousness  to  defeat ; often  overthrown,  he  always  re- 
appeared— an  indispensable  man  by  the  admission  even  of  his  enemies. 
He  saw  the  need  of  a stable  central  government  : in  his  Peruvian  Consti- 
tution, with  a democratic  legislature,  he  intrusted  the  executive  to  a 
dictator  for  life,  who  was  to  name  his  successor.  Like  Danton  he  insisted 
on  all  constitutional  questions  being  postponed  until  the  end  of  the  war. 
He  rightly  desired  that  all  the  colonies  should  unite  against  Spain : he 
erred  in  thinking  that  this  defensive  alliance  could  become  a permanent 
union.  When  at  length  he  saw  his  error,  and  agreed  to  the  separation  of 
Venezuela  from  Colombia,  it  was  too  late  to  recover  his  popularity.  For 
the  sixth  time  he  resigned,  and  for  once  his  resignation  was  accepted.  He 
died  soon  after  at  Carthagena,  on  his  way  to  exile. 

A word  about  Peru.  In  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century 
the  great  kingdom  of  the  Incas  was  made  known  to  the  world  by 
Pizarro.  We  read  in  the  glowing  pages  of  Prescott  of  the  great  size 
of  this  kingdom,  including,  as  it  did,  what  are  now  the  States  of  Bolivia, 
Ecuador,  Peru,  and  Chili,  and  extending  eastward  to  unknown  limits.  It 
embraced  within  its  borders  every  climate,  from  that  of  the  dry,  rainless, 
sandy  belt  along  the  Pacific  to  that  of  the  might}^  peaks  of  Chimborazo  and 
his  fellows,  whose  upper  heights  are  covered  with  everlasting  snows.  Every- 
where a never-ending  thrift  turned  aside  on  the  uplands  the  rushing  streams, 
and  forced  them  into  little  channels  to  irrigate  sunny  slopes  and  arid  places, 
until  the  whole  land  was  green  with  verdure  or  with  waving  grain.  Over 
the  million  of  subjects  there  reigned  a despot — perhaps  the  one  example  in 
the  world  of  a despot  who  brought  about  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest 
number,  securing  to  the  agriculturist  the  worker  in  precious  metals,  the 
artisan  at  the  loom — for  all  these  arts  flourished — a fair  portion  of  his  time 
for  the  support  of  his  family  while  the  rest  was  devoted  to  the  maintenance 
of  the  sovereign,  the  nobility,  and  the  temples  of  their  god,  the  Sun.  Of 
the  wealth  of  the  kingdom  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  captive  Atahuallpa, 
offered  as  his  ransom  to  fill  a room  seventeen  feet  broad  and  twenty  two  feet 
long  with  ornaments  and  statues  of  gold  to  a height  of  nine  feet.  And 
though  his  perfidious  conquerors  did  not  wait,  before  resolving  on  his  death, 
for  him  to  complete  the  tale,  yet  what  was  then  collected  and  melted  down  gave 
them  a boot}^  equivalent  to  fifteen  and  one-half  millions  of  our  dollars,  and 
this  was  but  a fragment  of  the  national  resources. 

Interesting  above  all  other  vSouth  American  states,  however,  in  regard  to 
extent  of  territory,  at  least,  and  until  of  recent  date,  as  being  the  only 
monarchy  or  empire  on  the  American  Continent — there  was  Brazil.  It  was 


BIRTH  OF  NEW  STATES  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  AMERICAS  125 


discovered  1499  by  Vicente  Janez  Pinzon  in  tlie  service  of  Spain.  Next 
year  the  Portuguese  expedition  to  the  East  Indies,  coinmanded  by  Pedro 
Alvarez  Cabral,  missed  its  course  by  adverse  currents  and  came  to  this  coast, 
and  Cabral  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  Emanuel,  his 
sovereign.  Successful  colonization  by  the  Portuguese  soon  followed,  not- 
withstanding the  opposition  of  Spain  and  the  rivalry  of  private  adventurers 
from  France,  who  sought  the  country  for  purposes  of  commerce.  Soon, 
however,  the  Spaniards  of  Buenos  Ayres,  feeling  that  the  complete  com- 
mand of  their  mighty  river  was  necessary  to  them,  colonized  the  left  bank 
by  founding  Monte  Video.  But  nearl}^  twenty  years  before  Portugal  had 
acquired  more  territory  on  the  Amazon  than  it  was  to  abandon  on  the  Plata, 
having  (1509)  wrested  from  France,  then  at  war  with  Portugal,  what  ma}^ 
now  be  designated  Brazilian  Guiana.  It  was  only  in  1531  that  the  Por- 
tuguese, busy  as  they  were  in  India,  planted  their  first  settlement.  In  1578 
Brazil  fell,  with  Portugal  itself  under  the  power  of  Spain — a connection 
which,  besides  being  essentially  detrimental,  speedily  threw  it  as  a pre3Anto 
the  hands  of  the  Dutch  Republic,  and  though  Portugal  regained  its  own  in- 
dependence in  1640,  it  was  not  until  1654  that  the  country  was  entirely 
recovered  from  the  Hollanders.  Thenceforward  the  colony  entered  on  a new 
era.  Supplanted  throughout  the  east  by  the  Dutch,  Portugal  was  now  direct- 
ing most  of  its  attention  to  her  possessions  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

About  a century  and  a half  later,  a still  more  beneficial  change — aris- 
ing from  the  mother  country’s  own  disasters — was  inaugurated  in  the 
colony.  In  1808,  under  the  pressure  of  French  invasion,  the  monarchy,  in 
the  persons  of  the  royal  family,  was  virtually  transferred  from  Portugal  to 
Brazil — an  event  immediately  followed  by  the  opening  of  the  ports  to 
foreigners.  As  a remoter  benefit,  too,  of  an  incident  which  had  no  parallel 
either  in  England,  Spain  or  America,  Brazil  on  shaking  off,  like  its 
neighbors,  the  European  yoke  altogether,  found  a merely  nominal  revolu- 
tion sufficient  for  its  purpose;  and,  since  the  transition  period,  1821-25, 
this  consolidated  government,  with  subordinate  institutions  for  local  objects, 
has  secured  to  Brazil’s  twenty  vast  provinces,  comparative  unity  and  peace. 
In  1815  the  Portuguese  king  John  VI,  raised  Brazil  to  the  rank  of  a king- 
dom. Returning  to  Portugal,  1820,  he  left  his  son,  Dom  Pedro,  regent. 
Two  years  later  the  latter  declared  Brazil  free  and  independent,  and  assumed 
the  title  of  Emperor.  In  1831  Dom  Pedro  I abdicated  and  returned  to 
Europe,  leaving  his  son  Dom  Pedro,  then  only  six  years  old  his  successor. 
The  country  was  under  a regency  until  1841,  when  the  son  was  declared  of 
age  and  crowned  Dom  Pedro  II. 


1 


CHAPTER  XV 

(FOURTH  DECADE) 

THE  DAYS  OF  WEBSTER  AND  CLAY 

— Prom  1820  to  1830  the  United  States  enjoyed  a period  of  comparative  peace  and  steady  prog- 
ress. The  prime  events  noted  in  our  record  of  the  decade  were:  The  Missouri  Compromise — The 
Monroe  Doctrine — The  Opening  of  the  Erie  Canal— The  Storming  of  the  Alamo. J 

Andrew  JACKSON  was  entirely  unlike  the  six  Presidents  of  the 
United  States  who  had  preceded  him  in  office.  They,  from  Wash- 
ington to  the  second  Adams,  had  been  men  of  culture,  trained  in  the 
science  of  government  both  at  home  and  abroad.  Jackson  had  grown  up 
on  the  frontier  among  rude  men,  and  was  chiefly  known  to  the  American 
people  as  the  hero  who  had  led  successful  campaigns  against  the  Indians 
and  defeated  the  British  at  New  Orleans.  Those  who  followed  his  lead, 
politically,  were  known  as  Democrats,  a party  maintaining  the  principle 
that  the  people  should  everywhere  manage  their  own  affairs  and  the  Federal 
Government  interfere  as  little  as  possible.  Opposed  to  it,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Henry  Clay,  was  the  National  Republican  Party,  which  asserted 
the  right  of  the  general  government  to  the  supreme  direction  of  the  affairs 
of  the  Union.  It  also  favored  a protective  tariff  and  a United  States  Bank, 
with  branches,  to  be  chartered  by  the  government  instead  of  many  local 
banks. 

We  summarize  the  situation  in  the  (amended)  words  of  Horace  E. 
Scudder  : Jackson  was  devoted  to  the  Union  but  he  was  also  convinced  that 
local  affairs  should  be  managed  by  the  local  government.  It  was  urged 
that  the  United  States  Bank  was  growing  too  powerful,  was  interfering  with 
local  banks,  and  was  influencing  the  general  government.  Jackson  opposed 
the  bank  with  all  his  might  and  finally  succeeded  in  closing  it.  Such  a 
man  could  no^  help  having  bitter  enemies  as  well  as  ardent  friends.'  It 
seemed  as  though  government  had  passed  out  of  the  hands  of  a set  of  men 
126 


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THE  DAYS  OF  WEBSTER  AND  CLAY 


127 


wlio  had  always  ruled  and  into  the  hands  of  the  people.  It  was  Jackson 
who  introduced  the  custom  of  turning  political  enemies  out  of  office  and 
replacing  them  with  political  friends.  He  had  a powerful  party  behind 
him  and  there  were  many  in  it  who  pushed  to  an  extreme  the  doctrine  of 
State  sovereignty. 

The  question  whether  the  Constitution  intended  a Union  superior  to 
the  States,  or  only  a compact  between  States,  each  supreme,  was  debated, 
as  every  American  schoolboy  knows,  in  the  United  States  Senate  in  1830. 
Robert  Young  Hayiie,  of  South  Carolina,  defended  the  State-sovereignty 
doctrine,  and  Daniel  Webster,  of  Massachusetts,  the  doctrine  of  the 
supremacy  of  the  Union.  In  this  debate  the  great  Webster  earned  the 
reputation  of  being  the  ablest  expounder  and  defender  of  the  American 
Constitution.  The  closing  words  of  one  of  his  memorable  speeches, 
“ Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable,”  became  a 
watchword  of  the  people. 

The  Southern  States  had  at  first  favored  a protective  tariff,  seeing  that 
it  made  a new  market  for  cotton  where  it  could  not  be  taxed  ; but  the 
Northern  States,  taking  advantage  of  the  tariff,  had  turned  their  energies 
to  manufacturing.  The  tariff,  by  successive  acts  of  Congress,  had  been 
made  to  cover  many  articles  of  commerce.  Thus  the  North  was  growing 
rich  while  the  South  made  no  headway.  The  great  articles  of  export, 
cotton  and  tobacco,  went  from  the  South,  and  it  was  by  selling  these  that 
the  country  was  able  to  buy  goods  from  Europe ; but  when  these  goods 
arrived  and  were  heavily  taxed  they  must  need  sell  at  a high  price. 

Now  began  a conflict  which  shook  the  republic  to  its  very  center.  The 
doctrine  of  State  sovereignty,  or  State  supremacy,  formulated  in  the  first 
constitution  of  the  republic,  known  as  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and 
discarded  in  the  second  constitution,  yet  prevailed,  especially  in  South 
Carolina,  where  John  C.  Calhoun  was  its  most  earnest  exponent.  The 
discontent  alluded  to  growing  out  of  the  tariff  acts,  and  crystallized  by  the 
alchem}^  of  this  doctrine,  assumed  the  concrete  form  of  incipient  rebellion 
against  the-  national  government  when,  in  the  spring  of  1813,  an  act  of 
Congress  was  passed  imposing  additional  duties  on  imported  textile  fabrics. 
A State  convention  of  delegates  was  held  in  South  Carolina  in  November 
following,  at  which  it  was  declared  that  the  tariff  acts  were  unconstitutional, 
and  therefore  null  and  void  ; and  it  was  resolved  that  no  duties  should  be 
collected  in  the  port  of  Charleston  by  the  national  government.  It  was  also 
proclaimed  that  any  attempt  to  enforce  the  law  would  be  resisted  b}^  the 
people  in  arms,  and  would  cause  the  secession  of  South  Carolina  from  the 


128 


THE  DAYS  OF  WEBSTER  AND  CLAY 


Union.  The  State  Legislature  that  met  soon  afterwards  passed  laws  in 
support  of  this  declaration,  and  military  preparations  were  made  for  that 
purpose.  Civil  war  seemed  to  be  inevitable,  but  the  President  met  the  exi- 
gency with  his  usual  promptness  and  vigor.  On  the  loth  of  December  he 
issued  a proclamation  (written  by  Louis  McLane,  Secretar};^  of  the  Treasury), 
in  which  he  denied  the  right  of  any  State  to  nullify  any  act  of  the  national 
government,  and  warned  those  engaged  in  the  movement  in  South  Carolina 
that  the  laws  of  the  United  States  would  be  enforced  by  military  power,  if 
necessary. 

The  “ nullifiers  ” yielded  to  necessity  for  the  moment,  but  their  zeal 
and  determination  were  not  abated.  Great  anxiet}^  filled  the  public  mind 
for  a time,  until  Henr}^  Clay,  one  of  the  most  earnest  promoters  of  the 
American  system,  appeared  as  a pacificator,  b}-  offering  a bill  (February 
12,  1833)  which  provided  for  a gradual  reduction  of  the  obnoxious  duties 
during  the  next  ten  years.  This  compromise  was  accepted  by  both  parties, 
and  the  bill  became  a law  in  IMarch.  Discord  ceased,  and  the  dark  cloud 
gave  way  to  sunshine.  President  Jackson  had  been  re-elected  to  the  Chief 
Magistracy  in  the  autumn  of  1832,  with  Martin  Van  Buren  as  Vice- 
President.  The  latter  had  been  Secretary  of  State,  and  was  appointed  by 
the  President,  during  the  recess  of  Congress,  to  succeed  Mr.  McLane  as 
minister  to  England.  The  Senate  afterwards  refused  to  ratify  the  appoint- 
ment, and  Van  Buren  was  recalled.  This  act  was  regarded  as  a gratuitous 
indignity  offered  to  the  administration.  Its  friends  made  use  of  it  to  create 
s\mipathy  for  the  rejected  minister,  and  he  was  elected  to  preside  over  the 
body  which  had  declared  him  to  be  unfit  to  represent  the  Republic  at  the 
British  court.  The  result  completel}^  alienated  Calhoun  from  the  admin- 
istration. 

While  the  country  was  agitated  b}"  the  movements  of  the  nullifiers,  the 
President  himself  produced  equal  excitement  by  beginning  a series  of  acts 
in  his  warfare  upon  the  United  States  Bank  which  were  denounced  as  high- 
handed and  tyrannical.  In  his  annual  message  in  December,  1832,  the 
President  recommended  Congress  to  authorize  the  removal  from  that  insti- 
tution of  the  Government  moneys  deposited  in  it,  and  to  sell  the  stock  of 
the  bank  owned  b}^  the  United  States.  Congress  refused  to  do  so.  After 
the  adjournment  of  that  bod}^  the  President  took  the  responsibility  of  order- 
ing Mr.  Duane,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to  withdraw  the  public  funds 
(amounting  to  about  $10,000,000)  from  the  bank,  and  deposit  them  in  cer- 
tain State  banks.  The  Secretary  refused,  when  the  President  removed  him 
from  office,  and  put  in  his  place  R.  B.  Tane}^  then  the  Attorney-General 


THE  DAYS  OF  WEBSTER  AND  CLAY 


129 


and  afterwards  Chief  Justice,  who  obeyed  his  superior.  The  removal  of  the 
funds  began  in  October,  1833,  and  a large  portion  of  them  were  drawn  out 
in  the  course  of  four  months  ; the  remainder,  by  the  end  of  nine  months. 
This  transaction  produced  great  public  excitement  and  much  commercial 
distress.  The  amount  of  loans  of  the  bank  was  over  $60,000,000  on  the 
first  of  October,  when  the  removal  was  begun  ; and  so  intricate  were  the 
relations  of  that  institution  with  the  business  of  the  country,  that  when  the 
functions  of  the  bank  were  paralyzed,  all  commercial  operation  felt  a dead- 
ening shock.  This  fact  confirmed  the  opinion  of  the  President  that  it  was 
a dangerous  institution,  and  he  refused  to  listen  favorably  to  all  prayers  for 
a modification  of  his  measures,  or  for  action  for  relief  made  by  numerous 
committees  of  merchants,  manufacturers,  and  mechanics,  who  waited  upon 
him. 

To  all  of  these  he  said,  in  substance : “ The  government  can  give  no 
relief  nor  provide  a remedy ; the  banks  are  the  occasion  of  the  evils  which 
exist,  and  those  who  have  suffered  by  trading  largely  on  borrowed  capital 
ought  to  break ; you  have  no  one  to  blame  but  yourselves.”  The  State 
banks  received  the  government  funds  on  deposit,  and  loaned  them  freely. 
The  panic  subsided ; confidence  was  gradually  restored,  and  apparent  gen- 
eral prosperity  returned. 

The  appearance  was  deceptive.  Let  us  condense  Mr.  Lossing  again  : 
“ Speculation  was  stimulated  by  the  freedom  with  which  the  banks  loaned 
the  public  funds,  and  the  credit  system  was  enormously  expanded.  Trade 
was  brisk;  the  shipping  interest  was  prosperous  ; prices  ruled  high  ; luxury 
abounded,  and  nobody  seemed  to  perceive  the  undercurrent  of  disaster  that 
was  wasting  the  foundations  of  the  absurd  credit  S3^stem  and  the  real  pros- 
perity of  the  nation.  A failure  of  the  grain  of  England  caused  a large 
demand  for  corn  to  pay  for  food  products  abroad.  The  Bank  of  England, 
seeing  exchanges  running  higher  and  higher  against  that  country,  con- 
tracted its  loans  and  admonished  houses  who  were  giving  long  and  exten- 
sive credits  to  the  Americans,  by  the  use  of  money  borrowed  from  the  bank, 
to  curtail  that  hazardous  business.  At  the  same  time  the  famous  ‘ Specie 
Circular’  went  out  from  our  Treasur}^  Department  (July,  1836),  directing 
all  collectors  of  the  public  revenue  to  receive  nothing  but  coin.  American 
houses  in  London  failed  for  many  millions  ; and  every  bank  in  the  United 
States  suspended  specie  payment  in  1837,  resumed  in  1839.  Then  the 
United  States  Bank,  chartered  by  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  fell  into 
hopeless  ruin,  and  with  it  went  down  a very  large  number  of  the  State  banks 
of  the  country.  A general  bankrupt  law,  passed  in  1841,  relieved  of  debt 
9 


130 


THE  DAYS  OF  WEBSTER  AND  CLAY 


almost  forty  tliousand  persons,  wliose  liabilities  amounted  in  the  aggregate 
to  about  four  hundred  and  forty-one  million  dollars.’^ 

These  financial  troubles  were  preceded  by  the  breaking  out  of  war  with 
the  Seminole  Indians  in  East  Florida,  a consequence  of  an  attempt  to 
remove  them,  by  force,  to  the  wilderness  west  of  the  Mississippi  River. 
Led  by  Micanopy,  their  principal  sachem  and  chief,  they  began  a most 
distressing  warfare  upon  the  frontier  settlements  of  Florida,  in  which 
Osceola,  a chief,  superior  in  ability  to  Micanopy  (for  he  possessed  the  cun- 
ning of  Tecumtha  and  the  heroism  of  a Metacomet),  was  an  active  leader 
for  a while,  for  he  had  private  wrongs  to  revenge. 

In  the  spring  of  1832,  some  of  the  Seminole  chiefs,  in  council,  agreed 
to  leave  Florida,  and  made  a treaty  to  that  effect.  Other  chiefs  (among 
whom  was  Osceola)  and  the  great  body  of  the  nation  resolved  to  stay, 
declaring  that  the  treaty  was  not  binding  upon  them.  At  length,  in  1834, 
General  Wiley  Thompson  was  sent  to  Florida  with  troops  to  prepare  for  a 
forcible  removal  of  the  Indians.  Osceola  stirred  up  the  nation  to  resistance. 
One  day  his  insolent  bearing  and  offensive  words  in  the  presence  of 
Thompson  caused  that  general  to  put  the  chief  in  irons  and  in  a prison  for 
a day.  Osceola’s  wounded  pride  called  for  vengeance,  and  it  was  fearfully 
wrought  during  a war  that  lasted  about  seven  years.  By  braver}^  skill, 
strategies,  and  treachery,  he  overmatched  the  United  States  troops  com- 
manded by  some  of  the  best  officers  in  the  service.  The  first  blow  was 
struck  in  December,  1835.  Osceola  had  agreed  to  send  horses  and  cattle 
to  General  Thompson  ; but  at  the  very  time  he  was  to  do  so,  the  savage 
was,  with  a small  war  party,  murdering  the  unsuspecting  inhabitants  on 
the  borders  of  the  Everglades — a region  niostl}^  covered  with  water  and 
grass,  and  affording  a secure  hiding-place  for  the  Indians.  At  that  time 
General  Clinch  was  occupying  Fort  Drane  with  a small  body  of  troops. 
That  post  was  in  the  interior  of  Florida,  forty  miles  eastward  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Withlacoochee  River,  and  the  garrison  was  now  exposed  to  much 
danger  from  the  hostilities  of  the  Indians.  Major  Dade,  with  over  a 
hundred  soldiers,  was  sent  from  Fort  Brooke,  at  the  head  of  Tampa  Bay,  to 
the  relief  of  Clinch  ; and  on  the  28th  of  December,  1835,  he  fell  into  an 
ambush,  and  he  with  his  followers  were  all  massacred  excepting  four  men, 
who  afterwards  died  from  the  effects  of  the  encounter.  That  sad  event 
occurred  near  Wahoo  Swamp,  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Withlacoochee. 
On  the  same  day  Osceola  and  a small  war  party  stole  unobserved  up  to  a 
store  a few  3^ards  from  Fort  King  (about  sixty  miles  southwest  of  St. 
Augustine),  where  General  Thompson  and  five  of  his  friends  were  dining. 


THE  DAYS  OF  WEBSTER  AND  CLAY 


131 


and  murdered  them.  Osceola  killed  and  scalped  General  Thompson  with 
his  own  hand,  and  so  he  enjoyed  the  revenge  he  had  sought. 

Three  days  later,  General  Clinch  had  a sharp  fight  with  the  Seminoles 
on  the  Withlacoochee,  and  on  the  last  day  of  February,  1836,  General 
Gaines  was  assailed  at  the  same  place.  The  Creeks  helped  their  brethren  in 
Florida  by  attacking  white  settlers  within  their  ancient  domain,  in  the 
spring  of  1836.  Made  bold  by  success,  they  extended  their  depredation 
and  murderous  forays  into  Georgia  and  parts  of  Alabama,  attacking  mail- 
carriers  on  horseback,  stage-coaches,  and  even  steamboats ; and  they 
assailed  villages,  until  thousands  of  men,  women,  and  children,  were  seen  fly- 
ing for  their  lives  from  place  to  place,  from  the  tomahawk,  bullets,  and  scalp- 
ing knife.  General  Winfield  Scott  was  now  in  chief  command  in  the  South, 
and  he  prosecuted  the  war  with  so  much  vigor  that  the  Creeks  were  speedily 
subdued;  and  during  the  summer  of  1836  thousands  of  them  were  removed 
to  the  wilderness  west  of  the  Mississippi.  In  mid-autumn.  General  Call,  of 
Georgia,  led  about  two  thousand  militia  and  volunteers  from  that  State 
against  the  Seminoles.  Near  the  place  of  the  massacre  of  Dade’s  command, 
a detachment  of  them,  about  five  hundred  in  number,  had  a severe  battle 
with  the  savages  on  the  25th  of  November;  but  like  all  other  encounters 
with  these  Indians  in  their  swampy  fastnesses,  it  was  not  decisive.  In  that 
region  the  United  States  troops  suffered  dreadfully  from  miasmatic  fevers, 
the  bites  of  venomous  serpents,  and  stings  of  insects  ; and  the  3^ear  1836 
closed  with  no  prospect  of  peace.  Indeed,  the  war  continued  all  the  winter  ; 
but  finally,  in  March,  1837,  several  chiefs  appeared  before  General  Jesup. 
then  in  chief  command  there,  at  his  quarters  at  Fort  Dade,  and  signed  a 
treaty,  which  was  intended  to  secure  an  immediate  peace  and  the  instant 
departure  of  the  Seminoles  to  the  new  home  prepared  for  them.  The  wily 
Osceola  caused  this  treaty  to  be  violated.  The  war  was  renewed  ; and  during 
the  summer  of  1837,  many  more  troops  perished  in  the  swamps  while  pur- 
suing the  savages. 

At  length  the  treacherous  chief  became  a prisoner  in  hands  of  General 
Jesup.  That  officer  received  Osceola  and  other  chiefs,  with  a train  of  sevent}^ 
warriors,  under  a flag  of  truce,  in  a grove  of  magnolias  in  the  dark  swamp. 
As  the  chief  arose  to  speak,  Jesup  gave  a signal,  two  or  three  of  his  soldiers 
rushed  forward,  seized  and  bound  Osceola  with  strong  cords.  He  made  no 
resistance  ; but  several  of  his  excited  followers  drew  their  gleaming  hatchets 
from  their  belts.  The  muskets  and  bayonets  of  Jesup’s  troops  restrained 
them,  and  they  were  dismissed  without  their  leader,  who  was  sent  to  Charles- 
ton and  confined  in  Fort  Moultrie.  There  he  died  of  a fever,  and  a 


132 


THE  DAYS  OF  WEBSTER  AND  CLAY 


small  monument  was  erected  over  liis  grave  near  the  main  entrance  of 
the  fort. 

Jesup  was  severely  censured  for  this  violation  of  the  sanctity  of  a flag; 
his  plea  in  his  justification  was  that  it  was  the  only  way  to  stop  the  dis- 
tressing war,  for  Osceola  could  not  be  held  by  the  most  solemn  obligations 
of  a treaty.  Osceola’s  captivity  was  a severe  blow  to  the  Seminoles  ; but 
under  other  leaders  they  continued  to  resist,  notwithstanding  almost  nine 
thousand  United  States  troops  were  in  their  territory  at  the  close  of  1837. 
Their  fastnesses  in  the  Everglades  could  not  be  penetrated  by  the  troops,  and 
they  defied  them,  even  after  they  received  a severe  punishment  from  a body 
of  six  hundred  national  soldiers  under  Colonel  Zachary  Taylor  (afterwards 
President  of  the  United  States),  who  had  succeeded  General  Jesup.  This 
chastisement  was  given  them  in  a battle  fought  on  Christmas  Day,  on  the 
northern  border  of  Macaco  Lake.  For  more  than  two  years  afterwards 
Taylor  and  his  men  endured  great  hardships  in  trying  to  bring  the  war  to  a 
close.  A treaty  for  that  purpose  was  made  in  May,  1839,  but  so  lightly 
did  its  obligations  bind  the  Indians  that  they  continued  their  depredations.  It 
was  not  until  1842  that  a permanent  peace  was  secured,  when  scores  of 
valuable  lives  and  millions  of  money  had  been  wasted  in  a war  that 
had  its  origin  in  the  injustice  of  the  white  man  towards  his  dusky 
neighbor. 

In  the  intercourse  of  President  Jackson’s  administration  with  foreign 
governments,  his  instructions  to  Minister  McLane  formed  the  basis  of  action. 
He  demanded  what  was  right  with  vigor,  and  refused  to  submit  to  what  was 
wrong  on  all  occasions  ; and  by  this  course  he  secured  to  our  republic  the 
profound  respect  of  all  nations.  At  the  end  of  his  first  term  the  foreign 
relations  of  our  government  were  very  satisfactory,  save  with  France.  That 
government,  by  a treaty  which  Jackson  had  pressed  vigorously  to  a con- 
clusion, had  agreed  to  pay  to  the  United  States  five  million  dollars,  by  in- 
stalments, as  indemnity  for  injury  to  American  commerce,  which  the 
operations  of  the  various  decrees  of  Napoleon  from  1806  until  t8ii  had 
inflicted.  The  legislative  branch  of  the  French  government  did  not  comply 
promptly  with  the  provisions  of  the  treaty,  and  the  President  assumed  a 
hostile  attitude.  The  affair  was  finally  settled  in  1836,  before  Jackson  left 
the  chair  of  state.  Similar  claims  were  made  against  Portugal,  and  pa}^- 
nient  obtained,  and  for  similar  reasons  the  king  of  Naples  agreed  to  pa}"  to 
the  United  States  one  million  seven  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars. 
Commercial  treaties  were  made  with  several  European  states  and  with  the 
Sultan  of  Turkey  ; and  when  Jackson  retired  from  office  in  the  spring  of 


THE  DAYS  OF  WEBSTER  AND  CLAY 


133 


1837,  our  republic,  with  its  national  debt  extinguished,  was  more  respected 
than  ever  by  the  powers  of  the  earth. 

During  the  two  administrations  of  Jackson  two  new  States  were  admitted 
into  the  Union,  making  the  whole  number  twenty-six.  These  were 
Arkansas  and  Michigan.  The  former  was  admitted  in  June,  1836,  and  the 
latter  in  January,  1837.  time  Jackson’s  Administration  was  draw- 

ing to  a close.  Martin  Van  Buren,  who  had  been  nominated  for  the  Presi- 
dency, with  the  understanding  that  if  elected  he  would  continue  the  gen- 
eral policy  of  Jackson,  was  chosen  to  that  office  by  a very  large  majority  of 
the  popular  vote.  The  people  failed  to  elect  a Vice-President,  and  the  Senate 
chose  Richard  M.  Johnson  of  Kentucky  for  that  office.  President  Jackson 
offended  a large  class  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  by  his  last  official 
act.  So  loud  was  the  public  clamor  against  the  “ Specie  Circular,”  that  a 
bill  for  the  partial  repeal  of  the  measure  was  passed  by  both  Houses  of 
Congress  at  near  the  close  of  the  session  in  1837.  President  refused 

to  sign  this  bill ; and  to  prevent  its  becoming  a law  by  two-thirds  vote  after 
he  should  veto  it,  he  kept  it  in  his  hands  until  Congress  had  adjourned.  His 
message  giving  his  reasons  for  withholding  his  signature  was  dated, 
March  3,  1837,  ^ quarter  before  12  P.  M.”  President  Jackson  now  retired 
to  his  seat,  “ The  Hermitage,”  in  Tennessee.  He  was  then  seventy  years 
of  age.  He  never  entered  public  life  again  ; and  there,  at  that  beautiful 
retreat,  he  died  in  June,  1845,  when  he  was  more  than  seventy-eight  years 
of  age. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


(FOURTH  DBCADK) 

REFORM  MOVEMENT  IN  ENGLAND 


{^Risurni. — The  crazy  George  III  died  in  1820,  and  during  the  next  decade  the  British  crown  was  worn 
by  George  IV,  “ the  first  gentleman  in  Europe  ” — in  reality,  “ the  first  dandy  and  first  scamp.”  In 
1829  he  was  forced  to  give  his  assent  to  the  Catholic  Emancipation  Act,  and  the  next  year  he  died 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  bluff  and  honest  sailor-brother,  William  IV.] 

WHEN  George  IV  of  England  died  in  1830,  and  was  succeeded  by  Iiis 
brother,  William  IV,  the  cry  for  Parliamentary  reform  in  England 
was  revived  with  a strength  it  had  never  known  before  in  England, 
because  of  the  Revolution  in  France  which  drove  Charles  X from  the 
throne  and  called  his  cousin,  Louis  Philippe,  to  reign  as  constitutional  King. 
William  IV  favored  the  demand  for  reform,  but  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
who  was  prime  minister  still,  refused  any  concession.  In  a debate  on  the 
answer  to  the  speech  from  the  throne,  he  declared  that  “ he  would  consent  to 
no  reform  ; that  he  thought  the  representative  system,  just  as  it  stood,  the 
masterpiece  of  human  wisdom  ; that  if  he  had  to  make  it  anew,  he  would 
make  it  just  as  it  was,  with  all  its  represented  ruins  and  all  its  unrepresented 
cities.”  His  attitude  drove  him  from  office,  and  for  the  first  time  in  twenty 
years  the  Whigs  saw  themselves  again  in  power,  under  the  leadership  of 
Earl  Grey. 

In  1831,  Lord  John  Russell  introduced  in  the  House  of  Commons  the 
first  Reform  Bill.  It  was  debated  throughout  a week,  and  on  the  second 
reading  was  carried  by  a vote  of  three  hundred  and  two  to  three  hundred 
and  one.  Subsequently  the  government  was  defeated  on  an  amendment  by 
a majority  of  eight  votes,  and  in  a few  weeks  there  followed  a dissolution. 
The  reform  party  triumphed  splendidly  in  the  ensuing  election,  and  a second 
bill  was  introduced,  and,  after  three  months  of  obstructive  debate,  passed 

bv  the  House  of  Commons.  The  House  of  Lords  promptLm'ejected  it.  ‘Ht 
134 


REFORM  MOVEMENT  IN  ENGLAND 


135 


seemed  now  as  if  reform  was  permanently  blocked  and  the  borough  mongers, 
securely  entrenched  in  the  hereditary  house,  were  determined  to  balk  the 
popular  will.  And  the  people  were  thoroughly  exasperated.  Riots  broke 
out  here  and  there.  It  looked  for  a time  as  if  revolution  was  the  only 
remedy.  And  the  nation  was  determined  to  reform  the  government.” 

However,  a way  was  found  without  using  violence.  The  third  bill  was 
introduced  in  December,  1831,  and  it  passed  the  House  of  Commons  the 
following  March.  The  ministry  had  a constitutional  means  of  coercing  the 
upper  house,  and  this  they  prepared  to  use.  It  was  announced  that  the 
crown  was  ready  to  create  enough  Liberal  peers  to  swamp  the  Tory 
majority.  Once  convinced  that  this  would  be  done,  the  lords  yielded  to  the 
inevitable;  their  vote  was  one  hundred  and  six  to  twenty-two.  And  so  the 
Reform  Bill  of  1832  became  a law.  It  was  not  a revolutionary  act.  It 
sought  merely  to  cut  off  flagrant  Parliamentary  abuses.  Fifty-six  English 
boroughs,  returning  one  hundred  and  eleven  members,  were  disfranchised. 
Thirty-two  other  boroughs  lost  each  one  member — a lotal  loss  of  one 
hundred  and  forty-three.  There  was  a net  loss  in  England  of  eighteen 
seats  in  Parliament — a loss  divided  among  Wales,  Ireland,  and  Scotland. 
The  suffrage  was  materially  extended ; and,  in  a word,  the  grand  result  of 
the  act  was,  that  “ political  power  was  transferred  from  the  upper  to  the 
middle  classes.” 

Popular  excitement  was  unbounded.  Petitions  rained  upon  the  House 
of  Commons,  demanding  that  the  House  should  refuse  to  vote  supplies. 
A run  upon  the  Bank  of  England  was  begun.  Enormous  meetings  in  all 
parts  of  the  country  resolved  to  pay  no  taxes  until  the  bill  should  pass. 
Plans  were  laid  for  arming  large  bodies  of  men  in  the  northern  counties 
and  marching  011  London.  There  were  serious  discussions  of  barricades 
and  street-fighting.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  was  reported  to  have  said 
that  “ there  was  a way  to  make  the  people  quiet.”  It  was  believed  that  he 
meant  to  suppress  reform  by  violence,  and  the  dragoons  were  seen  by  the 
eye  of  imagination,  if  not  in  actual  fact,  grinding  their  sabres  as  for  the 
work  of  immediate  battle.  Meantime,  while  this  fierce  excitement  was 
raging  over  the  land,  a feeble  effort  was  made  to  form  a Tory  administra- 
tion with  a view  to  some  acceptable  compromise.  The  hopeless  attempt  was 
quickly  abandoned,  and  Earl  Grey  returned  to  office  with  power  to  add  to 
the  House  of  Lords  such  a number  of  new  peers  as  would  effectually  quell 
the  resistance  of  the  obstructive  dignitaries.  Their  lordships  did  not  wait 
to  be  thus  diluted.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  and  a hundred  other  peers, 
majestically  sullen,  quitted  the  House  and  ceased  from  troubling.  Amid 


136 


REFORM  MOVEMENT  IN  ENGLAND 


rejoicing  such  as  political  victory  never  awakened  in  England  before,  the 
great  measure  passed  which  inaugurated,  for  all  the  coming  generations, 
government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people. 

The  Reform  Bill  of  1832  was  perhaps,  for  the  English,  the  greatest 
political  feat  of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  has  been  called  by  its  enemies 
a revolution ; and  it  was  so.  Two  methods  of  government  have  been  prac- 
ticed among  men.  The  oldest  and  the  most  widely  prevalent  has  been  gov- 
ernment by  an  individual  or  a class,  very  naturally  with  a supreme  regard 
to  the  interests  of  that  individual  or  that  class.  The  other,  which  is  of  later 
origin,  and  until  recently  was  confined  for  the  most  part  to  the  Anglo-Saxon 
family,  is  government  by  the  people  themselves,  and  for  their  own  interests. 
The  Reform  Bill  marks  for  Great  Britain  the  transition  from  the  old 
method  to  the  new. 

Before  half-past  two  o’clock  on  the  morning  of  June  20,  1837,  Wil- 
liam IV  was  lying  dead  in  Windsor  Castle,  while  the  messengers  were 
already  hurrying  off  to  Kensington  Palace  to  bear  to  his  successor  her  sum- 
mons to  the  throne.  With  William  ended  the  reign  of  a personal  govern- 
ment in  England.  King  William  had  always  held  to  and  exercised  the 
right  to  dismiss  his  ministers  when  he  pleased,  and  because  he  pleased. 
“ In  our  day,”  says  Justin  McCarthy,  “ we  should  believe  that  the  constitu- 
tional freedom  of  England  was  outraged,  if  a sovereign  were  to  dismiss  a 
ministry  at  mere  pleasure,  or  to  retain  it  in  despite  of  the  expressed  wish 
of  the  House  of  Commons.” 

The  manners  of  William  IV  had  been,  like  those  of  most  of  his  broth- 
ers, somewhat  rough  and  overbearing.  He  had  been  an  unmanageable 
naval  officer.  He  had  made  himself  unpopular  while  Duke  of  Clarence  by 
his  strenuous  opposition  to  some  of  the  measures  which  were  especially  desired 
by  all  the  elect  minds  of  the  country.  He  was,  for  example,  a determined 
opponent  of  the  measures  for  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade.  But  William 
seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  men  whom  increased  responsibility  improves. 
He  was  far  better  as  a king  than  as  a prince.  He  proved  that  he  was  able 
at  least  to  understand  the  first  duty  of  a constitutional  sovereign — which, 
to  the  last  day  of  his  active  life,  his  father,  George  HI,  never  could  be 
brought  to  comprehend — that  the  personal  predilections  and  prejudices  of 
the  King  must  sometimes  give  way  to  the  public  interest.  One  judges 
William  by  the  reigns  that  went  before,  and  not  the  reign  that  came  after 
him,  and  must  admit  that  011  the  whole  he  was  better  than  his  education, 
his  early  opportunities,  and  his  early  promise.  William  IV  (third  son  of 
George  HI)  had  left  no  children  who  could  have  succeeded  to  the  throne, 


grp: AT  p:xglish  scip:ntists. 


Thomas  Huxley,  born  in  1825;  died  in  1895. 

Charles  R.  Darwin,  born  in  1800;  died  in  1882. 

Sir  Humphry  Davy,  chemist  and  philosoplier,  born  in 
1778  and  died  in  1829, 


Hugh  Miller,  geologist,  born  in  1802;  committed 
suicide  while  insane  in  1855. 

Michall  Faraday,  physical  philosoi)her,  born  in 
1791  ; died  in  1869. 


Nicholas'^ 


William  II  of  GlbmahV 


^ OscA^f 


^liMBERT  10*" 


Tin-:  cKowxKi)  heads  of  Europe. 


William  II  of  fiermaiiy,  horn  in  1859;  acceded,  1888. 
Nicholas  II  of  Itussia,  horn  in  18()8;  acceded,  1894. 
Ilumhert  I of  Italy,  horn  in  ls44  ; accede<l,  1878;  died 
•Iidy  29.  19n0. 

Victoria  of  England,  l)orn  in  1819;  acceded,  1887. 


Oscar  I of  Sweden,  horn  in  1829;  acceded,  1872. 

Francis  .loseph  I of  Austria,  horn  in  1880  ; acceded,  1848. 
Alfonso  III  of  Spain,  horn  in  188(5  (a  minor). 
W’ilhelmina  of  the  Netherlands,  horn  in  1880;  acceded^ 
1898. 


REFORM  MOVEMENT  IN  ENGLAND 


137 


and  the  crown  passed,  therefore,  to  the  daughter  of  his  brother  (fourth  son 
of  George),  the  Duke  of  Kent.  This  was  the  Princess  Alexandrina  Victoria, 
who  was  born  at  Kensington  Palace  on  May  24,  1819.  The  Princess  was, 
therefore,  at  that  time  more  than  eighteen  years  of  age.  The  Duke  of 
Kent  died  a few  months  after  the  birth  of  his  daughter,  and  the  care  of  the 
child  was  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  widow.  She  was  well  brought  up  : 
both  as  regards  her  intellect  and  her  character — her  training  was  excellent. 
She  was  taught  to  be  self-reliant,  brave,  and  S3^stematical.  Prudence  and 
economy  were  inculcated  in  her  as  though  she  had  been  born  to  be  poor. 

One  is  not  generally  inclined  to  attach  much  importance  to  what  his- 
torians tell  us  of  the  education  of  contemporary  princes  or  princesses ; but 
it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  Princess  Victoria  was  trained  for  intelligence 
and  goodness.  There  is  a pretty  description  given  by  Miss  Wynn  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  young  sovereign  received  the  news  of  her  accession 
to  the  throne.  The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Dr.  Howley,  and  the  Lord 
Chamberlain,  the  Marquis  of  Conyngham,  left  Windsor  for  Kensington 
Palace  where  the  Princess  Victoria  had  been  residing,  to  inform  her  of  the 
King’s  death.  It  was  two  hours  after  midnight  when  they  started,  and  the}^ 
did  not  reach  Kensington  until  five  o’clock  in  the  morning.  They  knocked, 
they  rang,  they  thumped  for  a considerable  time  before  the}^  could  arouse 
the  porter  at  the  gate ; they  were  again  kept  waiting  in  the  courtyard,  then 
turned  into  one  of  the  lower  rooms,  where  they  seemed  forgotten  by  every- 
body. They  rang  the  bell,  and  desired  that  the  attendant  of  the  Princess 
Victoria  might  be  sent  to  inform  her  Royal  Highness  that  they  requested 
an  audience  on  business  of  importance.  After  another  delay,  and  another 
ringing  to  inquire  the  cause,  the  attendant  was  summoned,  who  stated  that  the 
Princess  was  in  such  a sweet  sleep  that  she  could  not  venture  to  disturb  her. 

Then  they  said,  “We  are  come  on  business  of  State  to  the  Queen,  and 
even  her  sleep  must  give  way  to  that.”  It  did;  and,  to  prove  that  she  did 
not  keep  them  waiting,  in  a few  minutes  she  came  into  the  room  in  a loose, 
white  nightgown  and  shawl,  her  nightcap  thrown  off,  and  her  hair  falling 
upon  her  shoulders,  her  feet  in  slippers,  tears  in  her  eyes,  but  perfectly^ 
collected  and  dignified.  The  Prime  Minister,  Lord  Melbourne,  was  pres- 
ently sent  for,  and  a meeting  of  the  Privy  Council  summoned  for  eleven 
o’clock,  when  the  Lord  Chancellor  administered  the  usual  oaths  to  the 
Queen,  and  her  Majesty  received,  in  return,  the  oaths  of  allegiance  of  the 
Cabinet  ministers  and  other  privy  councillors  present.  The  interest  or 
curiosity  with  which  the  demeanor  of  the  young  Queen  was  watched  was 
all  the  keener  because  the  world  in  general  knew  so  little  about  her.  Not 


138 


REFORM  MOVEMENT  IN  ENGLAND 


merely  was  the  world  thus  ignorant,  but  even  the  statesmen  and  officials  in 
closest  communication  with  court  circles  were  in  almost  absolute  ignorance. 
The  young  Queen  had  been  previously  kept  in  such  seclusion  by  her 
mother,  that  not  one  of  her  acquaintance,  nor  of  the  attendants  at  Ken- 
sington, not  even  the  Duchess  of  Northumberland,  her  governess,  have  any 
idea  what  she  is  or  what  she  promises  to  be.” 

There  was  enough  in  the  court  of  the  two  sovereigns  who  went  before 
Queen  Victoria  to  justify  any  strictness  of  seclusion  which  the  Duchess  of 
Kent  might  desire  for  her  daughter.  No  one  can  read  even  the  most  favorable 
description  given  by  contemporaries  of  the  manner  of  those  two  courts 
without  feeling  grateful  to  the  Duchess  of  Kent  for  resolving  that  her 
daughter  should  see  as  little  as  possible  of  their  ways  and  their  company. 
It  is  not  necessar}^  to  go  into  any  formal  description  of  the  proclamation  of 
the  Queen,  her  appearance  for  the  first  time  on  the  throne  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  when  she  prorogued  Parliament  in  person,  and  even  the  gorgeous 
festival  of  her  coronation,  which  took  place  on  Jnne  28th,  in  the  following 
year,  1838.  It  is  a fact,  however,  well  worthy  of  note,  amid  whatever  records 
of  court  ceremonial  and  of  political  change,  that  a few  days  after  the  acces- 
sion of  the  Queen,  Mr.  Montefiore  was  elected  sheriff  of  London,  the  first 
Jew  who  had  ever  been  chosen  to  that  office;  and  that  he  received  knight- 
hood at  the  hands  of  her  Majesty  when  she  visited  the  city  on  the  following 
Lord  Mayor’s  day.  He  was  the  first  Jew  whom  royalty  had  honored  in  this 
country  since  the  good  old  times  when  royalty  was  pleased  to  borrow  the 
Jews’  money,  or  order  instead  the  extraction  of  his  teeth.  The  expansion 
of  the  principle  of  religions  liberty  and  eqnality  which  had  been  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  characteristics  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Victoria,  could  hardly 
have  been  more  becomingly  inaugurated  than  by  the  compliment  which 
sovereign  and  city  paid  to  Sir  Moses  IMontefiore. 

Lord  Alelbourne  was  the  first  Minister  of  the  Crown  when  the  Qneen 
succeeded  to  the  throne.  “ He  was,”  says  Justin  McCarthy,  “ a man  who 
then  and  alwa^^s  after  made  himself  particularly  dear  to  the  Queen,  and  for 
whom  she  had  the  strongest  regard.  He  was  of  kindly,  somewhat  indolent 
nature ; fair  and  even  generous  towards  his  political  opponents  ; of  the  most 
genial  disposition  towards  his  friends.  He  was  emphatically  not  a strong 
man.  He  was  not  a man  to  make  good  grow  where  it  was  not  already  grow- 
ing. He  was  a kindly  counsellor  to  a young  Qneen;  and  happily  for 
herself  the  young  Queen  in  this  case  had  strong  clear  sense  enough  of  her 
own  not  to  be  absolutely  dependent  on  any  counsel.  Lord  Melbourne  was 
not  a statesman.  His  best  qualities,  personal  kindness  and  good  nature 


REFORM  MOVEMENT  IN  ENGLAND 


139 


apart,  were  purely  negative.  He  was  not  content  even  with  the  reputation 
for  a sort  of  indolent  good  nature  which  he  might  have  well  deserved.  He 
strove  to  make  himself  appear  hopelessly  idle,  trivial,  and  careless.  When 
he  really  was  serious  and  earnest  he  seemed  to  make  it  his  business  to  look 
like  one  in  whom  no  human  affairs  could  call  up  a gleam  of  interest. 

“ We  have  amusing  pictures  of  him  as  he  occupied  himself  in  blowing  a 
feather,  or  nursing  a sofa-cushion  while  receiving  an  important  and  perhaps 
highly  sensitive  deputation  for  this  or  that  commercial  interest.  Those  who 
knew  him  insisted  that  he  really  was  listening  with  all  his  might  and  main  ; 
that  he  had  set  up  the  whole  night  before  studying  the  question  which  he 
seemed  to  think  so  unworthy  of  any  attention ; and  that  so  far  from  being 
wholl}^  absorbed  in  his  trifles,  he  was  at  very  great  pains  to  keep  up  the  ap- 
pearance of  a trifler.  Such  a masquerading  might  perhaps  have  been 
excusable,  or  even  attractive,  in  the  case  of  a man  of  really  brilliant  and 
commanding  talents.  But  in  Lord  Melbourne’s  case  the  affectation  had  no 
such  excuse  or  happy  effect.  He  was  a poor  speaker  only  fitted  to  rule  in 
the  quietest  times.  Debates  were  then  conducted  with  a bitterness  of  per- 
sonality unknown,  or  at  all  events  very  rarely  known,  in  our  days.  Even 
in  the  House  of  Lords  language  was  often  interchanged  of  the  most  virulent 
hostility.  Lord  Melbourne’s  constant  attendance  on  the  young  Queen  was 
regarded  with  keen  jealousy  and  dissatisfaction.  According  to  some  critics 
the  Prime  Minister  was  endeavoring  to  inspire  her  with  all  his  own  gay 
heedlessness  of  character  and  temperament.  According  to  others.  Lord 
Melbourne’s  purpose  was  to  make  himself  agreeable  and  indispensable  to  the 
Queen ; to  surround  her  with  his  friends,  relations,  and  creatures  and  thus 
get  a lifelong  hold  of  power  in  England,  in  defiance  of  political  changes  and 
parties.  But  he  does  not  appear  to  have  been  greedy  of  power,  or  to  have 
used  any  unfair  means  of  getting  or  keeping  it.  The  character  of  the 
young  sovereign  seems  to  have  impressed  him  deeply.  His  real  or  affected 
levity  gave  way  to  a genuine  and  lasting  desire  to  make  her  life  as  happy 
and  her  reign  as  successful  as  he  could.  The  Queen  always  felt  the  warm- 
est affection  and  gratitude  for  him.  Still,  it  is  certain  that  the  Queen’s 
Prime  Minister  was  by  no  means  a popular  man  at  the  time  of  her  accession. 
When  the  new  reign  began,  the  Ministry  had  two  enemies  or  critics  in  the 
House  of  Lords  of  the  most  formidable  character.  Either  alone  would 
have  been  a trouble  to  a minister  of  far  stronger  mould  than  Lord  Mel- 
bourne, but  circumstances  threw  them  both  for  the  moment  into  a chance 
alliance  against  him.” 

One  of  these  was  Lord  Brougham.  No  character  stronger  and  stranger 


140 


REFORM  MOVEMENT  IN  ENGLAND 


than  his  is  described  in  the  modern  history  of  England.  He  was  gifted  with 
the  most  varied  and  striking  talents,  and  with  a capacity  for  labor  which  at 
times  seemed  almost  superhuman.  Not  merely  had  he  the  capacity  for 
labor,  but  he  appeared  to  have  a positive  passion  for  work.  His  restless 
energy  seemed  as  if  it  must  stretch  itself  out  on  every  side  seeking  new 
fields  of  conquest.  The  study  that  was  enough  to  occupy  the  whole  time 
and  wear  out  the  frame  of  other  men  was  only  recreation  to  him.  His 
physical  strength  never  gave  way.  His  high  spirits  never  deserted  him. 
His  self-confidence  was  boundless.  He  thought  he  knew  everything  and 
could  do  eveiwthing  better  than  any  other  man.  His  vanity  was  over- 
weening, and  made  him  ridiculous  almost  as  often  and  as  much  as  his  genius 
made  him  admired.  “ If  Brougham  knew  a little  of  law,”  said  O’Connell, 
when  the  former  became  Lord  Chancellor,  “ he  would  know  a little  of  every- 
thing.” The  anecdote  is  told  in  another  way  too,  which  perhaps  made  it 
even  more  piquant.  “ The  new  Lord  Chancellor  knows  a little  of  ever}^- 
thing  in  the  world — even  of  law.”  He  was  beyond  doubt  a great  Par- 
liamentary orator,  although  not  one  of  the  highest  class.  Brougham’s 
action  was  wild,  and  sometimes  even  furious  ; his  gestures  were  singularly 
ungraceful ; his  manners  were  grotesque  ; but  of  his  power  over  his  hearers 
there  could  be  no  doubt.  That  power  remained  with  him  until  a far  later 
date  ; and  long  after  the  years  when  men  usually  continue  to  take  part  in 
political  debate.  Lord  Brougham  could  be  impassioned,  impressive,  and  even 
overwhelming.  If  his  talents  were  great,  if  his  personal  vanity  was 
immense,  let  it  be  said  that  his  services  to  the  cause  of  human  freedom  and 
education  were  simply  inestimable.  As  an  opponent  to  slavery  in  the 
colonies,  as  an  advocate  of  political  reform  at  home,  of  law  reform,  of 
popular  education,  of  religious  equality,  he  had  worked  with  indomitable 
zeal,  with  resistless  passion,  and  with  splendid  success.  He  was  left  out  of 
office  on  the  reconstruction  of  the  Whig  Ministry  in  April,  1835,  and  he 
passed  for  the  remainder  of  his  life  into  the  position  of  an  independent  or 
unattached  critic  of  the  measures  and  policy  of  other  men.  It  has  never 
been  clearly  known  why  the  Whigs  so  suddenly  threw  over  Brougham. 
The  common  belief  is  that  his  eccentricities  and  his  almost  savage  temper 
made  him  intolerable  in  a cabinet.  It  has  been  darkly  hinted  that  for  a 
while  his  intellect  was  actually  under  a cloud,  as  people  said  that  of  Chatham 
was  during  a momentous  season.  Lord  Brougham  was  not  a man  likely  to 
forget  or  forgive  the  wrong  which  he  must  have  believed  that  he  had 
sustained  at  the  hands  of  the  Whigs.  He  became  the  fiercest  and  most  for- 
midable of  Lord  ^Melbourne’s  hostile  critics. 


REFORM  MOVEMENT  IN  ENGLAND 


141 


A movement  against  the  Corn  Laws  began  in  London.  An  Anti-Corn 
Law  Association  on  a small  scale  was  formed.  Its  list  of  members  bore  the 
names  of  more  than  twenty  members  of  Parliament,  and  for  a time  the 
society  had  a look  of  vigor  about  it.  It  came  to  nothing,  however.  Lon- 
don has  never  been  found  an  effective  nursery  of  agitation.  It  has  hardly 
ever  made  or  represented  thoroughly  the  public  opinion  of  England,  during 
any  great  crisis.  A new  centre  of  operations  had  to  be  sought,  and  in  the 
year  1838  a meeting  was  held  in  Manchester  to  consider  measures  neces- 
sary to  be  adopted  for  bringing  about  the  complete  repeal  of  the  obnoxious 
Laws.  The  Manchester  Chamber  of  Commerce  adopted  a petition  to  Par- 
liament against  the  Corn  Laws.  The  Anti-Corn  Law  agitation  had  been 
fairly  launched.  From  that  time  it  grew  and  grew  in  importance  and 
strength.  Meetings  were  held  in  various  towns  of  England  and  Scotland. 
Associations  were  formed  everywhere  to  co-operate  with  the  movement 
which  had  its  headquarters  in  Manchester.  The  real  leader  of  the  move- 
ment was  Mr.  Richard  Cobden.  “ Mr.  Cobden  was  a man  belonging  to  the 
3^eoman  class.  He  had  received  but  a moderate  education.  His  father 
dying  while  the  great  Free  Trader  was  still  young,  Richard  Cobden  was 
taken  in  charge  by  an  uncle,  who  had  a wholesale  warehouse  in  the  city  of 
London,  and  who  gave  him  employment  there.  Cobden  afterwards  became 
a partner  in  a Manchester  printed  cotton  factory  ; and  he  traveled  occasion- 
ally on  the  commercial  business  of  this  establishment.  He  had  a great 
liking  for  travel  ; but  not  by  any  means  as  the  ordinary  tourist  travels  ; 
the  interest  of  Cobden  was  not  in  scenery,  or  in  art,  or  in  ruins,  but  in  men. 
He  studied  the  condition  of  countries  with  a view  to  the  manner  in  which 
it  affected  the  men  and  women  of  the  present,  and  through  them  was  likely 
to  affect  the  future.  On  everything  that  he  saw  he  turned  a quick  and  in- 
telligent eye ; and  he  saw  for  himself  and  thought  for  himself.  Wherever 
he  went,  he  wanted  to  learn  something.  He  had  in  abundance  that  peculiar 
faculty  which  some  great  men  of  widely  different  stamp  from  him  and  from 
each  other  possessed,  the  faculty  which  exacts  from  every  one  with  whom  the 
owner  comes  into  contact  some  contribution  to  his  stock  of  information  and 
to  his  advantage.  Cobden  could  learn  something  from  everybody.  He 
traveled  very  widely,  for  a time  when  traveling  was  more  difficult  work 
than  it  is  at  present.  He  made  himself  familiar  with  most  of  the  countries 
of  Europe,  with  many  psivts  of  the  East,  and  what  was  then  a rarer 
accomplishment,  with  the  United  States  and  Canada.  He  studied  these 
countries  and  visited  many  of  them  again  to  compare  early  with  later  im- 
pressions.” 


142 


REFORM  MOVEMENT  IN  ENGLAND 


Mr.  Cobclen  found  some  colleagues  who  were  worthy  of  him.  His  chief 
companion  in  the  campaign  was  Mr.  Bright.  ‘‘It  is  doubtful  whether 
English  public  life  has  ever  produced  a man  who  possessed  more  of  the 
qualifications  of  a great  orator  than  Mr.  Bright.  He  had  a commanding 
presence,  a massive  figure,  a large  head,  a handsome  and  expressive  face. 
His  voice  was  powerful,  resonant,  clear,  with  a peculiar  vibration  in  it  which 
lent  unspeakable  effect  to  any  passages  of  pathos  or  of  scorn.  His  st3de 
of  speaking  was  pure  to  austerity ; it  was  stripped  of  all  superfluous  orna- 
ment. It  never  gushed  or  foamed.  It  never  allowed  itself  to  be  mastered 
by  passion.  The  first  peculiarity  that  struck  the  listener  was  its  superb 
self-restraint.  The  orator  at  his  most  powerful  passages  appeared  as  if  he 
were  rather  keeping  in  his  strength  than  taxing  it  with  effort.  His  voice 
was  for  the  most  part  calm  and  measured  ; he  hardly  ever  indulged  in  much 
gesticulation.  He  never,  under  the  pressure  of  whatever  emotion,  shouted 
or  stormed.  The  fire  of  his  eloquence  was  a white  heat,  intense,  consum- 
ing, but  never  sparkling  or  sputtering.  He  had  an  admirable  gift  of  humor 
and  a keen,  ironical  power.  He  had  read  few  books,  but  of  those  he  read  he 
was  a master.  The  English  Bible  and  Milton  were  his  chief  studies. 
Bright  was  a man  of  the  middle  class.  His  family  were  Quakers  of  a 
somewhat  austere  mould.  They  were  manufacturers  of  carpets  in  Rockdale, 
Lancashire,  and  had  made  considerable  mone}^  in  their  business.”  There 
was  something  positively  romantic  about  the  mutual  attachment  of  these 
two  men,  who  worked  together  in  the  closest  brotherhood,  who  loved  each 
other  as  not  all  brothers  do,  who  were  associated  so  closely  in  the  public 
mind  that  until  Cobden’s  death  the  name  of  one  was  scarcely  ever  men- 
tioned without  that  of  the  other.  Each  led  a noble  life  ; each  was  in  his  own 
way  a man  of  genius  ; each  was  simple  and  strong.  Rivaliy  between  them 
would  have  been  impossible,  although  they  were  every  day  being  compared 
and  contrasted  by  both  friendly  and  unfriendl}^  critics.  Their  gifts  were 
admirably  suited  to  make  them  powerful  allies.  Each  had  something  that 
the  other  wanted. 

In  1 838  the  Ameer  of  Afghanistan  was  Dost  Mahomed,  a prince  of 
strong  character,  who,  for  twelve  years  had  made  good  his  throne  against 
all  comers,  x^n  English  emissary,  Burnes,  had  been  on  a mission  to  the 
Dost  at  his  capital,  and  found  him  willing  to  eschew  all  overtures  from 
other  powers  and  to  throw  in  his  lot  with  the  English.  But  Lord  Auckland 
had  given  himself  to  another  policy.  Under  unliapp}^  influence  he  chose  to 
mistrust  the  Dost,  picked  Shah  Soojah  out  of  the  dust  of  Loodhianah  to 
use  him  as  a tool  and  a puppet,  and  determined  to  replace  in  the  Bala 


REFORM  MOVEMENT  IN  ENGLAND 


143 


Hissar  the  weak-minded  and  iintrustworth}^  exile  whom,  years  before,  the 
Afghan  nation  had  cast  out  as  a hissing  and  a reproach.  In  vain  did 
Burnes  attest  the  good  faith  of  the  Dost ; his  representation  went  for 
nothing  against  the  prejudices  which  had  been  instilled  into  Lord  Auck- 
land, and  in  the  face  of  the  appearance  at  Cabul  of  a Russian  envoy. 
There  was  some  reason  in  the  project  of  sending  succour  to  Herat,  besieged 
by  the  Persians  acting  under  Russian  influence ; but  when  the  siege  of 
that  place  was  raised  in  September,  1838,  there  ceased  to  be  any  valid 
objective  for  the  expedition. 

On  December  10,  1838,  Sir  Willoughby  Cotton  began  the  long  march 
which  was  not  to  terminate  at  Cabul  until  August  6,  1839.  The  advance 
to  the  passage  of  the  Indus  was  uneventful.  It  was  chiefl}^  through  the 
territories  of  the  Nawab  of  Bawalpore,  an  independent  Sikh  state.  The 
Nawab  proved  a most  obliging  and  gentlemanly  person  ; he  entertained  the 
leaders  of  the  expedition  in  his  capital,  amusing  them  with  marvelous  Shikar 
stories  ; and  he  kept  the  commissariat  liberally  supplied.  But  when  at  Sub- 
zulkote  the  column  entered  the  territory  of  the  Scindian  Ameer  of  Kyrpore, 
empty  promises  took  the  place  of  cordial  assistance. 

The  Bengal  contingent  crossed  the  Indus  by  a bridge  of  boats,  linking 
Roree  with  Sukkur,  and  moved  on  to  Shirkarpore.  Sir  John  Keane,  com- 
manding the  Bombay  troops,  having  landed  near  the  mouth  of  the  Indus, 
marched  up  the  right  bank  of  the  great  river,  assumed  the  supreme  com- 
mand of  the  wKole  force,  and  relegated  Cotton  to  the  command  of  the  Bengal 
Infantry  division.  Shah  Soojah  did  not  secure  much  popularity  in  the 
southern  capital  of  Afghanistan ; the  Douranee  Sirdars  who  took  his 
side  had  to  be  bribed  to  do  so.  The  army,  suffering  severely  from  sickness, 
was  compelled  to  halt  at  Candahar  till  the  ripened  crops  furnished  supplies 
for  the  advance  to  Cabul,  which  began  on  June  27,  the  day  on  which  died 
old  Rimjeet  Singh,  the  Lion  of  the  Punjab.”  The  historic  fortress  of 
Ghuznee,  two  hundred  and  seventy  miles  distant  from  Candahar,  was  ap- 
proached on  July  20  ; on  the  following  day  Cotton  and  Havelock,  riding  to 
the  front,  saw  the  gray  walls  and  lofty  citadel  rising  from  out  the  foliage  of 
the  surrounding  gardens.  Ghuznee  was  reported  a place  of  great  strength, 
and  a reconnoissance  in  force  directed  against  its  southern  face  appeared  to 
confirm  this  reputation.  It  was  full  of  troops,  commanded  by  3’oung  Hyder 
Khan,  the  son  of  the  Dost ; the  garrison  seemed  in  heart,  and  the  artillery 
practice  against  the  reconnoitering  force  Havelock  describes  as  “ by  no 
means  despicable.”  He  comments  very  severel}^  on  Keane’s  conduct  in 
having  left  the  siege  train  behind  at  Candahar,  after  it  had  been  laboriously 


144 


REFORM  MOVEMENT  IN  ENGLAND 


dragged  from  Ferozepore  across  the  desert  and  up  the  passes.  The  truth  is 
that  Keane  seems  to  have  known  very  well  what  he  was  about.  Major 
Todd  and  Lieutenant  Leech,  who  had  seen  Ghuznee,  had  reported  to  him  as 
to  its  defences  in  terms  which  he  regarded  as  justifying  him,  in  the  scarcity 
of  draught  animals,  in  leaving  the  siege  guns  in  Candahar.  An  inspection 
of  his  engineers  confirmed  the  reports  of  the  officers  mentioned,  and  he  saw 
his  way  to  winning  Ghuznee  by  a coup  de  main.  Havelock,  having  freed 
his  military  mind  on  the  subject  of  the  siege  train,  frankly  owns  Keane’s 
stroke  to  have  been  “ one  of  the  most  spirited  and  successful  attempts  of 
the  British  in  Asia.”  This  is  what  Keane  did.  He  had  become  aware  that 
of  the  four  gates  of  Ghuznee  three  had  been  built  up,  the  Cabul  gate  alone 
remained  in  use,  and  was  closed  only  by  the  massive  wooden  doors.  In  the 
gusty  darkness  of  the  early  morning  of  the  23d,  he  placed  his  field  guns  in 
battery  on  tJie  heights  opposite  the  northern  face  of  the  fortress.  The 
gardens  under  the  wall  of  this  face  he  filled  with  skirmishers  ; a detachment 
of  marksmen  was  detailed  to  make  a false  attack  on  the  southern  face. 
Near  the  middle  of  this  northern  face  was  the  Cabul  gate,  outside  which, 
close  up  but  well  in  cover,  had  been  disposed  a storming  party  with  its 
supports. 

The  storming  party,  commanded  by  Colonel  Dennie  of  the  Thirteenth 
Light  Infantry,  was  composed  of  light  companies  of  the  four  European 
regiments.  The  main  column  consisted  of  two  European  regiments  and  the 
support  of  another,  the  whole  commanded  by  Brigadier  Sale ; the  native 
regiments  constituted  the  reserve.  All  those  dispositions  were  completed  by 
3 A.  M.  and,  favored  b}^  the  noise  of  the  wind  and  the  darkness,  without  alarm- 
ing the  garrison.  At  that  hour  the  artillery  opened  fire.  The  skirmishers 
underneath  the  height  whence  the  guns  blazed,  engaged  in  a brisk  fusil- 
lade ; the  rattle  of  Hay’s  marksmen’s  fire  was  heard  from  the  south.  The 
garrison  sprang  to  the  alert.  The  northern  rampart  became  a sheet  of 
flame,  and  everywhere  the  cannonade  and  musketry  fire  waxed  in  noise  and 
volume.  Suddenly,  as  the  day  was  beginning  to  dawn,  a dull  sound  was 
heard  by  the  head  of  the  waiting  column,  scarce  audible  elsewhere  because 
of  the  boisterous  wind  and  the  din  of  the  firing.  A pillar  of  black  smoke  shot 
up  from  where  had  been  the  Cabul  gate,  now  a shattered  ruin.  The  engineers, 
Durand  and  Macleod,  had  crept  across  the  bridge  in  the  darkness,  had  piled 
bags  containing  nine  hundred  pounds  of  powder  up  against  the  massive  portal, 
had  fired  the  fuse,  and  had  retired  unhurt.  The  bugle  sounded  the  advance. 
Dennie  carried  his  stormers  with  their  first  rush  into  the  dark  and  smoking 
cavity,  to  meet  hand-to-hand  opposition  from  the  resolute  Afghans,  who  had 


GROUP  OF  ENGLISH  STATESMEN. 


William  E.  Gladstone  was  born  in  1809  and  died  in  1898. 
Charles  S.  Parnell,  born  in  18-16;  died  in  1891. 

William  Pitt,  second  son  ( f the  famous  Lord  Chatham,  was 
born  ill  1759  and  died  in  1806. 

Charles  James  Fox,  statesman  and  orator,  was  born  in 
1748  and  died  in  1806. 


Disraeli,  Earl  Beaconsfield,  author,  orator,  and  states- 
man, was  born  in  1805  and  died  in  1881. 

John  Bright,  born  in  1811  and  died  in  1889. 

Lord  Russell  was  born  in  1792  and  died  in  1878. 

Sir  Charles  Dilke,  born  in  1843. 


THK  IJKLIF.F  oF  LFFKXOW  FY  SIF  TIFXRY  HAYFLDCK. 

'I'll"  'cpov  .Mutiny  in  Iinlia  in  ISoT-lSnS  forms  oni-  of  the  most  tragic  epi.sodc-s  in  history.  It  wa.s  marked  by 
soni"  of  tin-  most  thrilling  imddetits  ever  recorded.  .Sir  Henry  Havelock  made  a forced  march  from  Allaliahad  to 
( awnpore  at  the  head  of  a eoliimn  o’  i, ()()()  men,  hut  arrived  too  late  to  jirevent  the  awful  massacre  cf  women  and  chil- 
dren. He  headed  for  l.ueknow.  w ■.  •:h  was  hesieged  hy  Sepoys,  and  after  continuous  tighting.  in  a darning  c.imate,  with 
cholera  earrving  oil' scores  o.  .1  .s  .r  ops,  he  reaidied  laieknow  in  time  to  save  the  desoairing  garrison,  who  were  at  tue 
la't  ext  leiii it y . 


REFORM  MOVEMENT  IN  ENGLAND 


145 


already  recovered  from  their  surprise  ; Havelock  vigorously  recounts  what 
followed.  Nothing  could  be  distinctl}'  seen  in  the  narrow  passage,  but  the 
clash  of  sword-blade  against  ba3^onet  was  heard  on  every  side.  The  little 
band  had  to  grope  its  way  between  the  3^et  standing  walls  in  darkness, 
Avhich  the  glimmer  of  the  blue  light  did  not  dissipate  but  rendered  more 
perplexing.  But  it  was  necessar3'  to  force  a passage ; there  was  neither 
time  nor  space,  indeed,  for  regular  street  firing,  but  in  its  turn  each  loaded 
section  gave  its  volle3",  and  then  made  wa3^  for  the  next,  which  crowding  to 
the  front,  poured  in  a deadl3^  discharge  at  half-pistol  shot  among  the 
defenders.  Thus  this  forlorn  hope  won  gradualH^  their  way  onwards,  till 
at  length  its  commander  and  their  leading  files  beheld,  over  the  heads  of 
their  infuriated  opponents,  a small  portion  of  blue  sky,  and  a twinkling 
star  or  two ; and  then  in  a moment,  the  headmost  soldiers  found  themselves 
within  the  place.  Resistance  was  overborne  ; and  no  sooner  did  those  four 
companies  feel  themselves  within  the  fortress  than  a loud  cheer  which  was 
heard  beyond  the  pillars  announced  their  triumph  to  the  troops  outside. 
Sale,  following  with  the  main  column,  had  a hand-to-hand  fight  with  an 
Afghan  in  which  he  killed  his  man  but  was  himself  wounded.  The  sup- 
ports and  reserves  poured  in  ; the  gates  of  the  citadel  were  carried;  and 
soon  from  its  summit  British  flags  were  flying.  There  was  much  hard 
fighting  within  the  walls  before  the  resistance  was  crushed  down.  Five 
hundred  Afghan  dead  were  found  inside  the  place  ; outside  many  more  fell 
under  the  sabres  of  Keane’s  cavalrymen.  Akbar  Khan  and  fifteen  hundred 
of  his  garrison  were  prisoners.  A great  booty  of  provisions,  horses,  and 
arms  fell  to  the  conquerors,  whose  loss  in  the  assault  amounted  to  eighteen 
killed  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  wounded. 


10 


CHAPTER  XVII 


(FOURTH  DECADE) 

THE  REVOLUTION  OF  183O 

[RSsumi. — The  story  of  Continental  insurrections  and  intrigues,  during  the  third  decade  of  the  centiuy, 
included  accounts  of  the  fortunes  of  the  restored  Bourbon  dynasties  in  France,  Spain,  and  Naples. 
Other  events  to  be  borne  in  mind  are  : The  Congress  of  Powers  at  Laybach  ; the  resignation  of 
Victor  Emmanuel  ; the  Greek  revolution,  and  Russia’s  war  with  Turkey.] 

The  French  Legislature,  in  1830,  granted  Louis  Philippe  a throne, 
demanding  as  a condition  precedent,  however,  a Constitution. 
Setting  the  new  sovereign  in  contrast  with  his  brother  Louis  XVIII, 
the  historian  Fyffe  remarks  : “ Instead  of  a representative  of  divine  right, 
attended  by  guards  and  nobles  and  counseled  by  Jesuit  confessors,  there 
was  now  a citizen  king,  who  walked  about  the  streets  of  Paris  with  an 
umbrella  under  his  arm,  and  sent  his  sons  to  the  public  schools,  but  who 
had  at  heart  as  keen  a devotion  to  dynastic  interests  as  either  of  his  pre- 
decessors, and  a much  greater  capacity  for  personal  rule.” 

The  intrigue  which  diverted  the  insurrection  of  July  to  Louis  Philippe 
was  in  no  sense  a popular  movenieut.  Louis  XVIII  granted  his  people  a 
Constitution;  the  French  Legislature  in  1830  granted  Louis  Philippe  a 
throne.  The  form  of  government  was  very  slightly  changed.  The  Legis- 
lature retained  the  initiative  which  Charles  X had  attempted  to  take  away ; 
and  all  the  eighteen  years  of  his  reign,  from  1830  to  1848,  were  spent  by 
Louis  Philippe  in  an  anxious  endeavor  to  strengthen  his  dynasty  at  home 
and  abroad.  The  most  conspicuous  politicians  in  France  were  Thiers  and 
Guizot,  who  alternately  headed  the  ministry  through  most  of  the  reign  ; 
and  there  was  no  one  great  event  or  achievement  in  France  for  which  all 
those  years  are  memorable. 

A few  weeks  after  Louis  Philippe  gained  the  throne  things  occurred 
which  cast  a shadow  on  the  reputation  of  the  King.  The  Duke  de 
14G 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1830 


147 


Bourbon — last  of  the  great  house  of  Conde,  and  father  of  the  Duke 
d’Eughieii  whom  Napoleon  murdered — was  an  old  and  feeble  man  living 
under  the  influence  of  an  evil  woman.  Driven  reluctantly  by  -the  per- 
suasion of  this  woman,  the  Duke  made  a will  bequeathing  the  bulk  of  his 
immense  fortune  to  a son  of  Louis  Philippe.  A year  later  the  Duke  was 
found  strangled  to  death,  apparently  by  his  own  hands,  but  as  the  King’s 
son  was  the  chief  beneficiary  by  his  death,  the  King  himself  was  suspected 
of  the  crime.  Louis  Philippe  quietly  ignored  popular  suspicion,  assumed 
control  of  the  dead  Duke’s  riches,  and  heaped  honors  on  the  woman  by 
whose  help  the  fortune  had  been  gained.  He  even  met  and  won  a lawsuit ; 
but  public  opinion  was  against  him. 

Enormously  rich  as  he  was,  instead  of  uniting  his  private  property 
with  that  of  the  state,  as  the  law  required,  the  King  transferred  it  to  his 
children.  He  then  claimed  from  the  country  a sum  of  five  million  dollars 
for  his  civil  list,  and  the  details  of  his  expenditure  drew  upon  him  showers 
of  damaging  ridicule.  This  robust  monarch,  it  was  pointed  out,  cost  the 
French  nation  a larger  sum  for  medical  attendance  than  had  the  frail  and 
gouty  Louis  XVHI. 

His  career  had  been  a remarkable  one.  He  was  the  eldest  sou  of 
Louis  Philippe  Joseph,  Duke  of  Orleans,  and  descended  from  the  3^ounger 
brother  of  Louis  XIV.  He  received  at  his  birth  the  title  Duke  of  Valois, 
and  afterwards  that  of  Duke  of  Chartres.  His  education  was  intrusted  to 
the  care  of  the  celebrated  Madame  de  Genlis.  He  entered  the  National 
Guard,  and  became  a member  of  the  Club  of  Friends  of  the  Constitution, 
afterwards  that  of  the  Jacobins.  Togther  with  his  father,  he  renounced  his 
titles  and  assumed  the  surname  Egalite.  He  showed  both  courage  and 
capacit}^  in  the  war ; but  his  situation  became  very  dangerous  after  the 
unsuccessful  battle  of  Neerwinden,  in  which  he  commanded  the  centre. 
He  was  included  in  the  order  of  arrest  issued  against  Dumouriez,  and  April 
4,  1793,  escaped  with  him  into  the  Austrian  territor^^  He  sought  in 
Switzerland  a place  of  security  for  his  sister  Adelaide-,  wandered  about 
among  the  mountains  four  months,  and  accepted  a situation  as  teacher  of 
geography  and  mathematics  in  a school  at  Reichewaw,  near  Chur,  assuming 
the  name  Chabaud-Latour.  He  afterwards  wandered  for  some  time  in 
northern  Europe  and  then  went  to  the  United  States.  In  1800  he  took  up 
his  abode  at  Twickenham,  near  London,  with  his  two  3^ounger  brothers, 
both  of  whom  soon  died.  In  1809  he  married  Marie  Amelie,  daughter  of 
Ferdinand  I of  the  Two  Sicilies.  On  the  fall  of  Napoleon,  he  hastened 
to  Paris,  where  he  was  received  with  distrust  by  Louis  XVHI.  After  the 


148 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  iSjo 


second  restoration,  he  recovered  his  great  estates,  which  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment had  sequestrated.  Disliked  by  the  court,  he  was  very  popular  in 
Paris.  He  kept  aloof,  however,  from  political  intrigues ; and  the  three 
bloody  days  of  the  revolution  of  1830  were  nearly  over  ere  he  was  brought 
forward,  the  banker,  Laffitte,  proposing  in  the  provisional  committee  his 
appointment  as  lieutenant-general  of  the  kingdom,  from  which  he  proceeded 
to  the  acceptance  of  a constitutional  throne,  August  9,  1830.  He  de- 
fended his  conduct  towards  the  elder  Bourbons  by  protesting  that  he  acted 
for  the  welfare  of  France.  He  cultivated  peaceful  relations  with  foreign 
powers,  sought  to  strengthen  his  throne  by  gaining  the  support  of  the  mid- 
dle classes,  and  repressed  all  the  extreme  parties  b*y  what  became  known  as 
the  Juste-Milieu  policy. 

The  first  four  or  five  years  of  his  reign  were  years  of  unquietness  and 
fear.  There  was  constant  strife  with  the  press,  in  which  the  government 
was  generally  worsted.  The  public  mind  was  distinguished  by  an  unwonted 
activity,  directing  itself  with  inconvenient  persistency  to  the  discussion  of 
political  questions.  This  state  of  mind  demanded,  as  one  of  the  conditions 
of  its  maintenance,  a copious  issue  of  cheap  political  literature.  Unstamped 
papers,  abhorred  of  the  police,  were  openly  vended  on  the  streets  in  defi- 
ance of  law,  but  with  popular  sanction  so  emphatically  expressed  that  the 
authorities  scarcely  ventured  to  interfere.  There  was  a powerful  and 
widely  ramified  society  for  promoting  the  rights  of  man,  whose  methods 
were  universal  suffrage,  and  executive  elected  and  temporary,  public  educa- 
tion, a more  equitable  distribution  of  property,  freedom  of  trade,  and  the  fed- 
eralization of  Europe.  Twenty-seven  members  of  this  society  were  prosecuted 
by  government,  but  acquitted  by  the  jury.  So  sensitive  was  the  liberalism 
of  the  deputies,  that  when  one  of  their  number  erringly  spoke  of  the  people 
as  the  king’s  “subjects”  the  chamber  absolutely  “quivered  with  indigna- 
tion,” and  adjourned  in  irrecoverable  confusion.  “The  men  who  make 
kings,”  it  was  logically  said,  “ are  not  subjects.”  The  government  at- 
tempted to  suppress  associations  for  political  discussion.  The  indig- 
nant republicans  prepared  to  defend  their  inalienable  rights.  They 
meditated  a new  revolution.  Lafayette,  now  very  near  the  close  of  life,  who 
had  spent  fifty  years  in  conspiring  to  overthrow  thrones,  held  meetings  of 
the  discontented  in  his  own  house.  An  organization  ready  for  revolt  over- 
spread France.  When  the  normal  excitement  which  burned  in  the  hearts 
of  the  Parisians  suffered  an  accidental  enhancement  it  expressed  itself  in 
formidable  riots.  Twice  the  distressed  weavers  of  Lyons  rose  in  open  rebel- 
lion, and  drove  out  the  troops  after  a severe  and  bloody  conflict.  While  the 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1830 


149 


elements  of  disturbance  were  thus  abundant,  a fanatic  named  Fiesclii  set 
up  at  a window  before  which  the  king  and  his  sons  were  to  pass  a machine 
composed  of  twenty-five  gun-barrels,  which  he  discharged  simultaneously 
against  the  royal  family.  Forty  persons  fell,  slain  or  wounded,  but  the 
king  passed  on  unharmed,  although  a bullet  grazed  his  forehead.  This 
outrage  profoundly  impressed  the  public  mind,  and  silenced  for  the  time  the 
enemies  of  the  monarchy.  Instant  advantage  of  the  auspicious  opportunity 
was  taken  to  enact  despotic  laws  in  the  interest  of  public  safety.  One 
series  of  measures  made  it  easy  for  the  government  to  secure  the  conviction 
of  a political  offender ; another  fettered  the  press.  No  man  now  might 
publish  a newspaper  without  giving  such  security  as  only  the  rich  could 
find.  Nothing  might  be  published  offensive  to  the  person  of  the  king.  No 
man  might  express  a wish  for  the  overthrow  of  the  new  government  or  the 
restoration  of  the  old,  or  subscribe  money  to  defray  penalties  on  newspapers. 
No  picture  could  be  offered  for  sale  until  approved  by  the  censor.  No  man 
might  venture,  under  a heavy  penalty,  to  call  himself  a republican.  M. 
Thiers  and  M.  Guizot  were  members  of  the  administration  which  originated 
these  measures. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Revolution  of  1830  would  affect  the  policy 
of  Metternich,  and  the  stability  of  the  Empire  whose  destinies  he  was 
guiding,  would  depend,  he  saw  at  a glance,  on  the  use  which  the  French 
people  would  make  of  their  reconquered  freedom  of  action.  When  it  tran- 
spired that  they  would  be  content  with  the  transfer,  under  certain  guarantees, 
from  the  elder  to  the  younger  branch  of  the  same  family;  when,  moreover, 
it  became  apparent,  as  it  did  very  soon,  that  the  representative  of  the 
younger  branch,  King  Louis  Philippe,  was  disposed  to  be  conservative, 
peaceful,  and,  as  far  as  he  dared,  autocratic,  the  three  despots  of  Europe 
realized  that  it  might  yet  be  possible  to  enforce  the  system  of  repression 
which  had  been  inaugurated  on  the  fall  of  Napoleon.  They  took  heart  ac- 
cordingly and  each  proceeded  in  his  fashion  to  crush  the  ebullition  which 
the  first  news  from  Paris  caused.  For  the  moment  they  encountered  little 
difficulty.  Nicholas  laid  his  heavy  hand  on  Poland,  and  the  rising  of  Poland 
collapsed.  Metternich,  confronted  by  Italy,  Germany,  and  Hungary,  had  a 
task  less  easy,  because  it  dealt  with  more  than  ‘one  nationality.  But,  rest- 
ing on  his  prestige,  his  alliances,  and  his  power  to  employ  force,  he  was 
equal  to  the  occasion.  In  Italy,  a rising  in  Bologna  was  sternly  repressed 
by  Austrian  troops.  In  Germany,  in  three  kingdoms,  of  which — Bavaria, 
Wurtemberg,  and  Saxony — the  desire  for  freedom  had  taken  the  form  of 
proclaiming  a constitution,  Metternich  caused  an  enactment  to  be  passed  by 


150 


THE  EE  VOLUTION  OF  1830 


which  every  ruling  prince  of  Germany  became  bound  to  reject  petitions 
tending  to  the  increase  of  the  power  of  the  estates  at  the  expense  of  the 
power  of  the  sovereign.  In  Hungary,  the  aspirations  of  whose  nobles  had 
caused  him  some  trouble  prior  to  1830,  he  succeeded  for  the  moment  in 
staving  off  a solution  which,  nevertheless,  so  clear-sighted  a statesman 
ought  to  have  regarded  as  simply  adjourned,  but  which  he  believed  would 
never  be  brought  up  for  settlement.  England,  indeed,  had  broken  forever 
with  absolutism  ; but,  since  the  death  of  Castlereagh,  Metternich  had  never 
hoped  much  from  England.  With  a Russia  forced  b}^  events  to  recur  to  the 
old  friendship  ; a Prussia,  and  therefore  a Germany,  completely  dominated, 
and  a France  governed  by  a pacific  Bourbon  bent  only  on  securing  the 
family  interests,  he  thought  he  would  yet  be  more  than  a match  for  the 
revolutionists  who  were  raising  their  heads  in  Italy,  and  who  had  begun  to 
undermine  Hungary. 

But  the  crushing  of  the  rising  in  Bologna  did  not  mean  the  permanent 
repression  of  the  longings  of  the  Italian  patriots.  Mazzini,  who,  on  the 
outbreak  of  the  revolution  of  1830,  had  been  arrested  and  imprisoned  on  the 
ground  that  he  was  fond  of  solitary  walks  by  night,  and  habitually  silent 
as  to  the  subject  of  his  meditations,  had  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  a 
stronger  society  than  that  of  the  Carbonari — a society  which  should  appeal 
to  the  natural  aspirations  of  the  Italians  for  unity  and  liberty — was  required 
to  save  Italy.  When  after  some  interrogatories,  it  was  recognized  by^  the 
King  of  Sardinia,  Charles  Felix,  that  proof  of  absolute  crime  was  abso- 
lutely wanting,  that  monarch  still  regarding  him  as  dangerous,  gave  him 
the  choice  of  remaining  under  surveillance  in  Italy  or  exile,  Mazzini  chose 
the  latter,  proceeded  by  way  of  Geneva  to  Lyons,  where  he  published  his 
first  work  picturing  the  rising  of  Romagna,  called  The  Night  of  Rimini ; 
thence,  after  a short  sojourn  in  Corsica,  to  Marseilles.  Here,  in  the  early 
days  of  1832,  his  prison-thought  found  expression  in  the  founding  of  the 
“ Society  of  Young  Italy.”  The  avowed  purpose  of  this  society  was  to 
make  Italy^  free,  united,  and  republican.  These  aims  were  avowed  and 
preached  in  a journal  called  after  the  name  of  the  society,  Giovina  Italia. 
The  character  of  the  founder,  the  principles  which  appealed  to  the  reason 
and  passions  of  a highly-gifted  people,  kept  in  a state  of  bondage  by  for- 
eign bayonets,  soon  obtained  for  the  society  a vast  number  of  adherents  : 
amongst  them  some  of  the  noblest  of  the  sons  of  Italy.  As  naturally,  the 
same  causes  brought  to  the  front  a number  of  powerful  enemies.  Prominent 
amongst  these — the  first,  in  fact  to  take  action — was  the  sovereign  who 
owed  his  throne  to  a revolution,  Louis  Philippe  of  France.  The  publica- 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1S30 


151 


tioii  of  the  paper  was  prohibited,  its  numbers  were  confiscated  when  they 
appeared,  and  finally  Mazzini  and  his  friends  had  to  quit  Alarseilles  and  find 
a refuge  in  free  Switzerland.  Establishing  himself  at  Lugano,  there  on 
the  very  borders  of  Italy,  Mazzini  received  the  fugitives  from  the  tyranii}^ 
which  overshadowed  his  native  land.  Thence  in  February,  1834,  the  patriots 
marched  to  strike  a blow  for  freedom.  The  blow  failed,  and  Mazzini  was 
forced  to  flee,  first  to  Paris  ; thence,  a little  later,  to  London. 

Metternich  had  been  neither  blind  to,  nor  had  he  underrated  the  im- 
portance of,  Mazzini’s  movement.  The  publication  of  Giovina  Italia^  the 
lofty  sentiments  it  inspired,  the  ability  with  which  it  was  conducted,  had 
roused  the  quick  suspicions  of  his  sensitive  mind.  Early  in  1834  he  had 
written  to  his  principal  agent  in  northern  Italy  to  warn  him  of  the  new 
danger,  and  especially  of  its  author.  Nor,  when,  a year  later,  the  expedition 
from  Lugano  failed,  did  the  astute  Austrian  statesman  consider  the  danger  at 
an  end,  He  had  Mazzini  tracked  to  his  halting-place  in  Paris,  and  thence  to 
his  lair  in  London.  There  his  every  movement  was  watched,  and  thence 
copies  of  all  his  publications  were  carefully  despatched  to  Vienna.  The 
task  of  reading  these  was  a long  one,  for,  despite  an  occasional  interfer- 
ence with  his  correspondence  and  his  privacy,  Mazzini  stayed  in  London 
till  the  overthrow  of  the  throne  of  the  barricades  indicated  to  the  oppressed 
peoples  of  Europe  the  road  to  unity  and  freedom. 

But  Metternich  had  on  his  hands  at  the  earlier  stage  of  this  epoch  other 
matters  at  least  as  serious  as  the  movements  and  actions  of  Mazzini.  These 
I shall  briefly  indicate.  No  portion  of  the  territories  which  acknowledged 
the  sway  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg  had  made  more  sacrifices  for  that 
House  than  Hungary.  She  had  served  the  monarchy  of  Maria  Theresa. 
She  had  poured  out  her  blood  like  water  to  resist  Napoleon.  Hungary  pos- 
sessed a constitution,  under  the  operation  of  which  the  laws  were  adminis- 
tered by  means  of  county  assemblies,  empowered  to  raise  taxes  and  levy 
soldiers  ; to  refuse  obedience  to  all  orders  save  those  which  bore  the  stamp 
of  legality.  Those  assemblies  had  no  power,  however,  to  alter  the  laws. 
This  power  devolved  on  the  Diet,  composed  of  representatives  from  the 
several  counties.  The  maintenance  of  this  constitution  formed  part  of  the 
contract  by  virtue  of  which  the  sovereignty  over  Hungary  had  devolved 
on  the  House  of  Habsburg.  In  an  hour  of  Austria’s  need,  when  Francis, 
on  the  instigation  of  his  Minister,  had  resolved  to  strike  the  blow  which 
should  be  fatal  to  his  son-in-law,  he  had  convened  the  Hungarian  Diet.  But 
from  1813  to  1825  Minister  who  governed  in  his  name  had  not  once 
called  it  together.  Having,  however,  been  baffled,  in  1823,  attempt  to 


152 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1830 


raise  taxes  unauthorized  by  any  law  passed  by  the  Diet,  Metternich,  wanting 
money,  was  constrained  to  convene  it  in  1825.  This  Diet  witnessed  the 
formation  of  the  constitutional  opposition,  destined,  in  later  years,  to  achieve 
so  great  results.  The  leader  of  this  movement  was  Count  Szechenyi,  a 
member  of  one  of  the  great  families  of  Hungary,  and  one  who  lamented 
the  system,  introduced  by  Metternich  of  attracting  the  great  nobles  of 
Hungary  to  Vienna,  with  the  view  to  divert  into  other  channels  aspirations 
naturally  Hungarian.  Szechenyi’s  main  object  was  to  restore  the  use  of 
the  Magyar  language,  and  to  revivify  Hungarian  social  life. 

On  both  these  points  Metternich  opposed  him,  and  for  the  moment  the 
schemes  of  the  patriot  Hungarian,  though  pushed  with  a vigor  and  self- 
sacrifice  rarely  surpassed,  did  not  ripen.  Again  in  1830,  was  the  Diet  sum- 
moned, representing  alike  Hungary  and  Transylvania.  The  first  demand 
made  by  the  government  was  one  to  which  no  opposition  was  anticipated. 
It  was  simply  a demand  for  new  recruits  for  the  army.  But  the  revolution 
of  July  had  taken  place;  new  aspirations  had  seized  the  imaginations  of 
thoughtful  men  in  the  two  countries,  and  much  opposition  was  raised  to  the 
measure.  Again  were  the  questions  of  the  use  of  the  Magyar  language, 
and  the  employment  of  Hungarian  officers  with  Hungarian  soldiers  strongly 
urged,  but  the  Diet  was  dissolved  (December,  1830)  before  any  definite  reso- 
lution had  been  arrived  at. 

Again  was  it  called  together  in  December,  1832.  This  time  the  Austrian 
government  and  the  advocates  of  the  rights  of  the  peasants,  represented  by 
Francis  Deak,  were  found  on  one  side,  the  nobles  and  privileged  classes  on 
the  other.  Whilst  the  discussions  on  this  subject  were  still  proceeding,  the 
Emperor  Francis  died  (March  2,  1832).  His  son,  Ferdinand,  who  suc- 
ceeded him,  though  a prince  of  weak  intellect,  was  good-natured  and  kind- 
liearted,  and  he  insisted  that  some  concessions  should  be  made  to  the  popular 
demands.  Metternich  made  them  accordingly,  but  so  grudgingly  that  the 
effect  which  might  have  otherwise  been  expected  from  them  was  sadly 
marred.  It  was  in  this  Diet  that  Kossuth  took  the  lead  as  a supporter  of 
the  popular  feelings. 

During  the  next  three  years  Metternich  made  serious  attempts  to  allay 
the  growing  feeling  against  Austrian  predominance  in  Hungary.  Full  of 
hope  that  he  had  attained  this  end,  he  summoned  a new  Diet  in  June,  1839. 
To  test  its  loyalty  he  at  once  demanded  a contribution  of  four  million 
florins  and  thirty-eight  thousand  recruits.  But,  like  England’s  Charles  I, 
lie  found  the  popular  leaders  still  determined  to  harp  on  the  old  theme. 
Before  the  Diet  had  been  summoned  he  had  caused  the  most  eminent  of 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1830 


153 


them — Kossuth,  Wesselenyi,  and  others — to  be  placed  under  arrest.  The 
Diet  refused  to  discuss  any  proposition  of  the  government  until  those  mem- 
bers should  be  released.  Metternich  had  to  give  way,  alike  on  that  point 
and  on  another,  with  respect  to  the  peasants’  dues  which  he  had  caused  the 
Emperor  to  impose  in  1836.  The  demands  of  the  government  were  then 
granted,  but  the  check  which  Metternich  had  received  was  severe,  and  fore- 
boded ill  for  the  future.  The  Diet  did  not  separate  until  the  question 
regarding  the  Hungarian  language  had  been  practically  settled  in  favor  of 
Magyars. 

This  is  the  place  to  say  that,  in  1832,  Dom  Pedro,  ex-Emperor  of  Brazil, 
led  an  expeditionary  force,  collected  by  the  opponents  of  the  usurper,  Don 
Miguel,  for  the  dethronement  of  his  brother.  The  next  year  Dom'  Pedro’s 
fleet,  commanded  by  Sir  Charles  Napier,  vanquished  the  fleet  of  Don  Miguel, 
off  Cape  St.  Vincent. 

In  1833,  Ferdinand  VII,  of  Spain,  died,  and  his  infant  daughter, 
Isabella  II,  succeeded,  under  the  regency  of  her  mother.  Her  uncle,  Don 
Carlos,  however,  proclaimed  himself  the  lawful  sovereign,  and  there  ensued 
the  Carlist  insurrection.  In  1834  a quadruple  treaty — England,  France, 
Spain,  and  Portugal — was  directed  against  Don  Miguel  and  Don  Carlos. 
Dom  Pedro  died  in  September  of  that  year.  In  1837  General 

Espartero  defeated  the  Carlists. 


/ 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

(FOURTH  DECADE) 

ALONG  THE  MEDITERRANEAN  AND  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA 

l^Resume. — This  is  really  a new  phase  of  European  history.  It  means,  as  we  shall  see,  the  resurrection 
of  Africa.  Egypt  enters  into  world  politics,  and  the  Boers  are  born.] 

The  Greeks  had  been  enduring  for  many  years  the  tyranny  of  the 
Turks,  and  in  1829  ended  the  Turkish  rule,  by  the  friendly  aid 
of  Christian  Europe,  in  the  establishment  of  Greece  as  an  inde- 
pendent kingdom.  Two  unsuccessful  attempts  at  rebellion  had  been  made 
in  1770  and  1790.  Capo  d’lstrios,  the  first  president  of  Greece,  was  assas- 
sinated in  1831,  and,  after  several  candidates  for  the  new  kingdom  had  been 
proposed  and  rejected,  Otto,  the  second  son  of  the  King  of  Bavaria,  was 
selected  (1832)  by  the  three  great  powers — Great  Britain,  France,  and 
Russia.  Otto’s  reign  was  not  a peaceful  one,  and  he  had  serious  difficulties 
to  contend  with.  It  has  been  said  of  his  reign  that : “ His  rule  was  not 
altogether  devoid  of  fruit  ; for  law  and  order,  industry  and  commerce,  liter- 
ature and  self-government,  advanced.”  Otto  w^as  banished  in  1862,  and  the 
crown  was  offered  to  Prince  Alfred  of  England.  The  agreement  between 
the  protecting  powers,  however,  stood  in  the  way  of  his  election.  George  I, 
son  of  Christian  IX,  of  Denmark,  became  king  in  1863.  Here  we  may  say 
that  the  Berlin  congress  of  1878  recommended  the  addition  to  Greece  of 
the  southern  portion  of  Thessaly  and  Albania,  and  this  enlargement  of 
territory  was  accomplished,  with  some  modifications,  in  1881,  after  Turkey 
had  refused  to  cede  the  entire  area  specified. 

War  seemed  at  first  likely  to  result  from  the  disagreement,  but  ulti- 
mately was  averted,  through  the  effort  of  the  European  powers,  by  a com- 
promise to  which  the  Greeks  reluctantly  assented. 

Mehemet  Ali,  the  Pasha  of  Egypt,  the  most  powerful  of  all  the  Sultans 
of  Turkey’s  feudatories,  had  made  himself,  meanwhile,  master  of  Syria. 
154 


ALONG  THE  MEDITERRANEAN 


155 


By  tlie  aid  of  liis  adopted  son,  Ibrahim  Pasha,  he  had  defeated  the  armies 
of  the  Porte  wherever  he  had  encountered  them.  Mehemet’s  victories  had, 
for  the  time,  compelled  the  Porte  to  allow  him  to  remain  in  power  in  Syria ; 
but  in  1839  the  Sultan  again  declared  war  against  Mehemet  Ali.  Ibrahim 
Pasha  again  obtained  an  overwhelming  victory  over  the  Turkish  army. 
The  energetic  Sultan  Mahmoud  died  suddenly,  and  immediately  after  his 
death  the  Capitan  Pasha,  or  Lord  High  Admiral  of  the  Ottoman  fleet,  went 
over  to  the  Egyptians  with  all  his  vessels  ; an  act  of  almost  unexampled 
treachery  even  in  the  history  of  the  Ottoman  empire.  It  was  evident  that 
Turkey  was  not  able  to  hold  her  own  against  the  formidable  Mehemet 
and  his  successful  son,  and  that  the  policy  of  the  Western  Powers  of 
Europe,  and  of  England  especially,  had  long  been  to  maintain  the  Ottoman 
empire  as  a necessary  part  of  the  common  state  system.  The  policy  of 
Russia  was  to  keep  up  that  empire  as  long  as  it  suited  her  own  purposes  ; 
to  take  care  that  no  other  power  got  anything  out  of  Turkey  and  to  prepare 
the  way  for  such  a partition  of  the  spoils  of  Turkey  as  would  satisfy 
Russia’s  interests.  Russia,  therefore,  was  to  be  found  now  defending 
Turkey  and  now  assailing  her.  The  course  taken  by  Russia  was  seemingly 
inconsistent ; but  England,  then,  as  now,  bent  on  the  preservation  of  the 
Turkish  Empire,  knew  better.  France  was  less  set  on  the  maintenance  of 
Turkish  territory  ; Austria  was  inclined  to  agree  with  England,  and  Prussia 
was  willing  either  wa3^ 

By  the  storming  of  Acre  his  victory  at  Konieh  and  subsequent  successes 
Ibrahim  Pasha  had  brought  the  Turkish  government  to  the  brink  of  ruin. 
The  European  powers  again  interfered,  and  Mehemet  Ali  saw  himself 
compelled  to  give  up  all  his  claims  to  the  possession  of  Syria,  and  to  con- 
tent himself  with  getting  the  pashalic  of  Egypt  made  hereditary  in  his 
family.  If  the  infirmities  of  age  had  not  begun  to  tell  upon  Mehemet  Ali, 
he  might  have  re-established  Egyptian  nationality.  He  thoroughly  cleared 
the  country  of  robbers,  from  Abyssinia  to  the  mouths  of  the  Nile  ; he  may 
almost  be  said  to  have  introduced  the  cultivation  of  cotton,  indigo,  and 
sugar  into  the  country.  While  Syria  was  under  his  rule  he  increased  to  an 
immense  extent  the  mulberry  plantations,  and  consequently  the  cultivation 
of  silk ; and  to  crown  all  his  efforts  he  established  in  Egypt  a system  of 
national  education.  In  his  last  years  he  fell  into  a sort  of  religious  dotage, 
<aud  at  last  resigned  his  vicero3^ship  in  favor  of  his  son  Ibrahim  Pasha. 
The  history  of  modern  Eg3'pt  began  with  the  foundation  of  the  semi  feudal 
dynasty  of  the  reigning  house  of  Mehemet  Ali  in  1811.  For  three  cen- 
turies Egypt  had  been  under  the  rule  of  the  Sultans  of  Turke3q  and  had 


156 


ALONG  THE  MEDITERRANEAN 


received  its  governors  from  Constantinople.  Yet  even  before  the  rise  of 
Meheiiiet  Ali  the  authority  of  the  Sultans  in  the  land  of  the.  Nile  had  not 
been  absolute.  It  had  always  been  more  or  less  modified  by  the  great 
Egyptian  military  caste,  which  while  conceding  the  feudal  dependence  of 
Egypt  on  Turkey,  maintained  the  government  of  the  Mameluke  chiefs. 
The  virtual  ruler  of  Egypt  was  a native  Bey,  chosen  by  Beys.  It  was  he 
who  levied  taxes,  kept  up  a military  force,  coined  money,  and  performed 
other  acts  of  local  sovereignty.  The  principal  visible  sign  of  Turkish 
ascendancy  appeared  in  the  annual  tribute  which  was  paid  by  Egypt  into 
the  coffers  of  the  Sultan.  Revolts  to  throw  off  the  Turkish  yoke  altogether 
had  taken  place  before  that  which,  under  Mehemet  Ali,  conferred  upon 
Egypt  a virtual  though  not  as  yet  an  acknowledged  independence.  These 
former  revolts  had  not  prevailed,  but  the  hold  of  the  Sultans  had  always 
been  too  weak  to  enable  them  to  punish  or  degrade  the  revolting  Beys. 
The  invasion  of  Egypt  by  Napoleon  well-nigh  destroyed  all  semblance  of 
Turkish  authority  on  the  Nile,  which  was  restored  by  the  subsequent  naval 
triumphs  of  England,  always  for  her  own  reasons  the  prop  and  protector 
of  the  Turk.  Yet  even  after  Nelson  had  turned  the  tide  of  war  in  the 
Mediterranean  at  Trafalgar,  the  Beys  were  strong  enough  to  depose,  and 
even  on  one  occasion  to  execute  the  viceroys  sent  by  the  Sultan  to  rule  over 
his  uncomfortable  dependency.  Mehemet  Ali,  who  in  the  history  of  Eastern 
politics  holds  a rank  of  the  first  magnitude  as  a warrior  and  a statesman, 
and  to  whose  genius  Egypt  owes  at  least  a far  higher  position  among  the 
nations  than  ever  since  the  time  of  her  ancient  splendor  and  power,  was  by 
birth  a Macedonian,  and  by  profession  a soldier  in  the  armies  of  the  Sultan. 
He  was  as  much  a foreigner  in  Egypt  as  any  Turkish  viceroy.  At  the  age 
of  thirty-seven  he  had  already  won  high  military  rank  by  reason  of  his  ex- 
traordinary capacity,  and  found  himself  holding  an  important  command  in 
Egypt.  Although  he  had  fought  vigorously  against  the  disloyal  Beys,  he 
contrived  to  win  the  respect  and  even  the  affection  of  the  Egyptians.  Sud- 
denly he  was  proclaimed  viceroy  by  the  native  chiefs  at  Cairo  ; and  so  feeble 
at  this  time  was  the  Sultan’s  grasp  on  Egypt  that  he  actually  withdrew  his 
own  viceroy  and  acknowledged  Mehemet  Ali  in  his  stead. 

No  sooner  had  Mehemet  Ali  found  himself  in  power  than  he  set  about 
building  up  a strong  nationality.  He  suppressed  the  military  aristocracy 
of  the  Manilouks,  which  struggled  against  his  promotion  ; he  reorganized 
the  Egyptian  forces  ; he  conquered  Syria,  and  he  compelled  Turkey  to 
acknowledge  by  treaty  his  sovereignty,  subject  to  feudal  tribute,  over  Egypt 
and  its  recent  acquisitions.  So  aggressive  indeed  became  Mehemet  Ali’s 


ALONG  THE  MEDITERRANEAN 


157 


military  aspirations  that  he  is  believed  to  have  cherished  an  ambition  to 
conquer  European  Turkey  itself. 

Meheniet  Ali  gained  the  one  important  advantage  from  international 
interference,  to  which  we  have  alluded.  By  a treaty,  of  which  the  signa- 
tories were  Turkey,  England,  Russia,  and  Austria,  concluded  in  1840,  his 
rights  to  Egyptian  sovereignty  were  acknowledged.  The  principal  restric- 
tions imposed  by  this  treaty  on  the  viceroy  were,  that  he  should  pay  a large 
annual  tribute  to  the  Porte ; that  his  army  should  not  be  increased  beyond 
a certain  stated  limit ; and  that  he  should  hold  no  direct  diplomatic  rela- 
tions with  other  powers.  Mehemet  Ali  was  wise  and  shrewd  enough  to 
accept  this  settlement  in  good  faith.  He  had  won  the  sanction  of  the  great 
powers  to  his  viceregal  powers  ; he  had  shown  the  Sultan  that  his  military 
prowess  was  not  to  be  despised ; and  he  had  long  subdued  all  serious  oppo- 
sition to  his  rule  among  the  Egyptians  themselves.  He  now  directed  his 
great  abilities  exclusively  to  the  reorganization  of  Egypt  as  a state,  and 
here  his  remarkable  administrative  genius  found  abundant  scope.  The 
system  of  Egyptian  government  which  exists  to-day  was  in  the  main 
Mehemet  Ali’s  creation  and  handiwork;  and,  debased  as  Egypt  is  beneath 
the  autocratic  control  of  the  foreigner,  there  are  many  traces  through  its 
present  administrative  constitution  of  a master-hand  in  statecraft.  It  is 
declared  on  high  authority,  to  be  “ incomparably  the  most  civilized  and 
efficient  of  existing  Mussulman  governments.”  Many  abuses  of  centuries’ 
growth  and  standing  were  abolished ; order  was  imparted  to  the  official 
services  ; education  was  somewhat  promoted.  The  finances  were  placed  on 
a sounder  basis,  and  the  industries  of  Egypt  were  diligently  fostered  by  his 
able  sovereign. 

The  French  were  meanwhile  having  their  own  special  troubles  in  North 
Africa  with  the  famous  Abd-el-Kader.  This  chief  was  born  at  an  institu- 
tion of  the  Marabouts,  near  Mascara,  which  belonged  to  his  family.  His 
father,  esteemed  a very  holy  man,  died  in  1834.  In  1827  Abd-el-Kader 
visited  Egypt,  where,  in  Cairo  and  Alexandria,  he  first  came  in  contact  with 
western  civilization.  Religious  enthusiasm  and  melancholy  were  prominent 
in  his  character.  He  early  showed  an  uncommonly  gifted  mind.  Abd-el- 
Kader  was  free  from  the  savage  cruelty  and  sensuality  of  the  Arabs  ; he 
maintained  purity  of  manners,  and  did  not  permit  himself  to  be  misled  by 
anger  or  passion.  Although  he  firmly  adhered  to  the  faith  of  his  nation, 
and  even  used  their  fanaticism,  he  had  no  sympathy  with  their  fanatical 
intolerance.  When  Algiers  was  conquered  by  the  French,  the  Arabian 
tribes  of  the  province  of  Oran  seized  the  opportunity  to  make  themselves 


158 


ALONG  THE  MEDITERRANEAN 


independent  of  the  Turks,  and  elected  Abd-el-Kader  as  their  emir,  who  soon 
established  his  authority  over  some  neighboring  tribes.  He  then  attacked 
the  French;  and  by  bloody  battles  December  3,  1833,  and  January  6, 

1834,  he  forced  from  them  a treaty.  In  the  interior  his  power  was  spread 
by  victories  over  neighboring  chiefs,  and  he  became  master  of  Miliana  and 
Medeah.  All  the  cities  and  tribes  of  the  provinces  of  Oran  and  Titeri 
acknowledged  Abd-el-Kader  as  their  Sultan ; the  distant  tribes  sent  him 
ambassadors  with  presents.  Soon  hostilities  broke  out  between  him  and  the 
French.  The  first  operations  of  the  French  General  Tretzel  led  to  that 
fatal  retreat,  in  which  the  French  army  was  attacked  at  Makta,June  28, 

1835,  by  Abd-el-Kader’s  whole  force,  nearly  twenty  thousand  cavalry,  and 
suffered  a disgraceful  defeat. 

The  “ Great  Trek  ” of  1836  was  the  source  of  all  subsequent  troubles 
between  the  Dutch  and  English  races  in  South  Africa.  It  is  one  of  the 
strangest  events  of  the  present  century,  this  abandonment  of  their  homes 
by  thousands  of  Cape  colonists,  and  their  braving  all  the  hardships  of  life 
in  the  wilderness  for  no  other  cause  than  to  be  free  of  British  rule.  Yet 
there  is  nothing  to  cause  surprise  in  the  matter  if  the  character  of  the  Dutch 
people  is  considered.  These  colonists  were  of  the  same  blood  as  the  men 
v/ho  withstood  the  great  power  of  Philip  II  of  Spain,  who  laid  the  richest 
part  of  their  country  under  water  rather  than  surrender  it  to  Louis  XIV  of 
France.  They  were  not  the  men  and  women  to  submit  to  what  they  be- 
lieved to  be  misrule  if  there  was  a possibility  of  successful  resistance  or  a 
chance  of  making  their  escape.  Many  of  them  were  accustomed  to  live  in 
wagons  and  to  subsist  to  a large  extent  upon  game,  so  that  moving  deeper 
into  the  continent  was  in  itself  no  great  difficulty.  Before  them  was  a 
great  waste  swarming  with  wild  animals  What  wonder  that  they  should 
move  into  it  with  such  powerful  motives  to  urge  them  on  ! Let  us  look 
briefly  at  the  grievances  which  determined  their  conduct.  First.  There  was 
subjection  by  a foreign  and  unsympathetic  government.  Second.  There  was 
the  prohibition  of  their  language  in  the  public  offices  and  courts  of  law. 
Third.  There  was  the  superintendent  of  the  London  Missionaiy  Society,  their 
ablest  and  most  relentless  opponent,  in  possession  of  boundless  influence 
with  the  British  authorities.  Fourth.  There  were  the  slanderous  statements 
made  by  the  philanthropic  societies  in  England  concerning  them.  Fifth. 
There  was  the  sudden  emancipation  of  their  slaves  without  adequate  com- 
pensation. Sixth.  There  was  the  whole  mass  of  the  colored  people  placed 
upon  a political  footing  with  them,  and  that  without  a vagrant  act  being 
put  into  force.  Seventh.  Tliere  was  no  securit^^  for  life  or  property  in  the 


ALONG  THE  MEDITERRANEAN 


159 

eastern  districts,  wliicli  were  exposed  to  invasion  by  the  Kosas,  as  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  took  part  with  the  barbarians.  These  were  the  chief  causes 
of  the  great  emigration,  and  there  were  many  others  of  less  importance. 

And  now  all  over  the  frontier  districts  the  great  wagons  were  laden  with 
household  goods,  provisions,  and  ammniiition,  and  bands  of  |)eople  set  out 
to  seek  a new  home  in  the  north.  ^Each  party  was  usually  made  up  of  fam- 
ilies related  to  each  other,  and  the  man  with  the  greatest  influence  in  it  was 
elected  its  leader,  with  the  title  of  commandant.  The  horned  cattle,  horses, 
and  goats  were  driven-  slowly  on,  and  often,  when  the  pasture  was  good,  the 
caravans  would  rest  for  weeks  together.  They  went  up  from  the  grass- 
covered  hills  along  the  coast  and  the  bare  Karoo  farther  inland,  till  they 
came  to  one  or  other  of  the  steep  passes  into  the  elevated  basin  drained  by 
the  Orange  and  its  numerous  tributaries.  With  twenty  to  thirty  oxen 
before  each  wagon  they  struggled  up,  and  then  went  on  without  difficult}^ 
down  the  long  slope  to  the  river  and  across  the  wide  plains  of  the  present 
Orange  Free  State.  North  of  the  Orange  the  emigrants  regarded  them- 
selves as  beyond  English  authority,  for  over  and  over  again  it  had  been 
officially  announced  that  great  Britain  would  not  enlarge  her  possessions  in 
South  Africa. 

“The  first  party  that  left  the  colony  made  its  way  northward  to  the  Zout- 
pansberg,  where  it  divided  into  two  sections  of  about  fifty  individuals  each. 
One  of  these  sections  was  cut  off  by  a band  of  blacks,  and  all  its  members 
except  two  children  were  murdered.  The  other  attempted  to  explore  the 
country  to  Delagoa  Bay,  but  lost  its  cattle  by  the  tsetse^  and  was  then 
attacked  by  fever,  from  which  only  one  man  and  barely  half  the  women  and 
children  recovered.  The  unfortunate  survivors,  after  almost  incredible 
hardships  reached  Delagoa  Bay,  where  they  were  ver}^  kindly  treated  by  the 
Portuguese  authorities,  being  provided  with  food  and  shelter  until  their 
friends  could  send  a vessel  from  Natal  to  rescue  them.  The  second  party 
was  much  larger,  and  was  under  the  leadership  of  a man  of  considerable 
ability,  named  Hendrik  Potgieter.  It  moved  slowly  on  until  it  reached  the 
banks  of  the  Vet  River,  a tributary  of  the  Vaal,  where  it  halted.  Potgieter 
found  here  a native  captain  in  a very  wretched  condition,  who  claimed  to  be 
the  descendant  of  chiefs  that  had  once  ruled  over  numerous  followers  in  a 
wide  expanse  of  country.  Having  lived  long  in  fear  of  doing  anything  that 
might  bring  him  to  the  knowledge  of  Moselekatse,  he  was  delighted  at  the 
appearance  of  the  white  people,  especially  when  he  received  from  them  a 
very  liberal  offer.  Potgieter  proposed  that  he  should  sell  the  country  which 
he  claimed,  except  a reserve  of  ample  size  for  himself  and  his  followers,  and 


160 


ALONG  THE  MEDITERRANEAN 


receive  in  exchange  protection  and  a small  herd  of  cattle.  The  captain  at 
once  consented,  and  then  the  emigrants  took  possession  of  the  land  between 
the  Vet  and  the  Vaal  Rivers,  some  of  them  even  moving  beyond  the  Vaal. 
After  a while  Commandant  Potgieter  and  eleven  others  went  out  to  explore 
the  country  northward,  and  traveled  as  far  as  the  Zoutpansberg,  where  they 
were  much  pleased  with  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  the  rich  pasture.  They 
believed  also  that  communication  with  the  outer  world  could  be  opened 
through  Delagoa  Bay,  so  that  the  country  seemed  to  offer  every  advantage 
that  could  be  desired  for  a settlement. 

“ In  high  spirits  they  set  out  to  return  to  their  families,  but  on  arriving 
at  the  place  where  they  had  left  the  last  wagons  they  were  struck  with 
horror  by  finding  that  many  of  their  friends  had  been  massacred  in  a 
dreadful  manner  not  long  before.  A band  of  Moselekatse’s  warriors,  while 
traversing  the  country  to  keep  it  from  being  occupied,  had  suddenly  come 
upon  a little  party  of  white  people,  and  murdered  all  who  could  not  escape. 
Most  of  those  along  the  Vaal,  however,  had  notice  in  time  to  draw  their  wagons 
around  them,  and,  when  attacked,  were  able  to  beat  off  their  assailants. 
The  Matabele  soldiers  then  returned  to  the  Marikwa  for  reinforcements. 
Potgieter  immediately  selected  a suitable  hill,  and  formed  a strong  laager 
on  it,  by  lashing  fifty  wagons  together  in  a circle  and  filling  all  the  open 
spaces,  except  a narrow  entrance,  with  thorn  trees.  He  had  not  long  to  wait 
before  the  Matabele  attacked  him.  They  rushed  upon  the  laager  with  loud 
hisses,  but  were  received  with  deadly  fire  from  the  forty  men  inside,  and  were 
obliged  to  fall  back.  Again  they  rushed  on  regardless  of  death,  and  strove 
to  tear  the  wagons  apart,  but  could  not.  The  forty  defenders  of  the  laager 
were  keeping  up  a rapid  fire,  for  their  wives  and  mothers  were  loading  spare 
guns  for  their  use.  As  a last  resource  the  men  of  one  of  the  Matabele 
regiments  threw  their  spears  over  the  wagons,  where  over  eleven  hundred 
were  afterwards  picked  up,  and  when  this  failed  they  withdrew,  but  drove 
off  the  whole  of  the  emigrants’  cattle.  They  left  a hundred  and  fifty-five 
corpses  outside  the  laager. 

“ Potgieter’s  party  was  now  in  great  distress.  Including  servants,  forty- 
six  of  its  members  had  been  murdered,  and  the  survivors  were  in  a solitary 
waste  without  the  means  of  moving  and  with  very  little  food.  Fortunately, 
however,  the  third  band  of  emigrants,  under  Commandant  Gerrit  Maritz, 
had  just  encamped  at  Thaba  Ntshu,  and,  learning  what  had  happened,  sent 
oxen  to  bring  away  the  unfortunate  people  and  their  effects. 

“ And  now  it  was  to  be  seen  what  metal  the  emigrants  were  made  of. 
It  might  be  thought  that  with  such  experience  they  would  have  retreated  at 


ALONG  THE  MEDITERRANEAN 


161 


once,  but  the  idea  of  abandoning  their  project  never  occurred  to  one  of  them. 
Instead  of  fleeing  from  Moselekatse,  they  resolved  to  attack  him  in  his  own 
kraal,  and  punish  him  severely  for  what  he  had  done.  One  hundred  and 
seven  farmers  mustered  for  this  purpose,  and  with  them  went  forty  half- 
breeds  and  a few  blacks  to  look  after  the  horses.  A deserter  from  the 
Matabele  army  volunteered  to  act  as  guide.  So  thoroughly  depopulated 
was  the  country  that  not  an  individual  was  met  between  Thaba  Ntshu  and 
Mosega,  and  the  commando  under  Potgieter  and  Maritz  was  able  to  surprise 
the  southernmost  military  kraal  of  the  Matabele  one  morning  at  break  of 
da}^.  Moselekatse  himself  was  not  there  at  the  time,  and  the  induna  in 
command  of  the  soldiers  happened  also  to  be  absent.  This  was  a fortunate 
circumstance  for  the  farmers.  The  soldiers  grasped  their  spears  and  shields, 
and  rushed  forward ; but  the  volleys  of  slugs  drove  them  back  in  confusion, 
and  there  was  no  one  of  sufflcient  authority  to  restore  order.  They  took  to 
flight,  and  were  hunted  by  the  farmers,  until  the  sun  was  high  overhead, 
when  it  was  computed  that  at  least  four  hundred  must  have  been  slain. 
The  commando  then  set  fire  to  the  kraal  and,  with  nearly  seven  thousand 
head  of  cattle,  returned  to  Thaba  Ntshu.” 

After  this  Potgieter’s  party  formed  a camp  on  the  Vet  River  at  a place 
to  which  the  name  Winburg  was  given  in  memory  of  the  recent  victory. 
There  it  was  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  numerous  families  from  the 
colony.  At  this  time  also  a band  reached  Thaba  Ntshu  from  the  Winter- 
berg  with  an  able  man  named  Pieter  Retief  as  its  head.  On  the  6th  of  June, 
1837,  a general  assembly  of  the  emigrants  was  held  at  Winburg,  when  a 
provisional  constitution,  consisting  of  nine  articles,  was  adopted.  The 
supreme  legislative  power  was  entrusted  to  a single  elective  chamber  termed 
the  volksraad,  the  fundamental  law  was  declared  to  be  the  Dutch,  a court 
of  landdrost  and  heemraden  was  created,  and  the  chief  executive  authority 
was  confided  to  Mr.  Retief  with  the  title  of  commandant-general.  The 
strong  feeling  of  antagonism  that  Dr.  Philip  had  roused  is  shown  in  one  of 
the  articles  of  the  constitution,  which  provided  that  every  member  of  the 
community  and  all  who  should  thereafter  join  them  must  take  an  oath  to 
have  no  connection  with  the  London  Missionary  Society.  That  body  was 
regarded  by  them  as  purely  a political  institution,  advocating  and  spreading 
principles  of  anarchy ; and  they  regarded  it  as  something  like  blasphemy 
to  speak  of  its  superintendent  in  Capetown  as  a minister  of  the  gospel. 
Fresh  bands  of  emigrants  were  frequently  arriving  and  some  of  them 
thought  it  would  be  better  to  go  down  into  Natal  than  to  remain  on  the 
highlands  of  the  interior.  Pieter  Uys,  the  leader  of  one  of  these  bands, 
11 


162 


ALOXG  THE  MEDlTEliRAXEAN 


had  visited  Natal  a couple  of  years  before,  and  waxed  eloquent  when 
describing  its  beaut}^  and  fertilit3\  Retief  himself  was  inclined  to  favor  a 
settlement  near  the  sea,  but  before  making  up  his  niindfinall}^  he  and  some 
others  proceeded  to  inspect  the  countr^^  belo\v  the  mountains  and  ascertain 
if  Dingan  would  dispose  of  it.  While  they  were  awa}^  the  second  expedi- 
tion against  the  Matabele  set  out.  It  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  thirt}'- 
hvC  farmers  in  two  divisions  under  Hendrik  Potgieter  and  Pieter  U3^s. 
Aloselekatse  was  found  on  the  Marikwa,  about  fift}^  miles  north  of  Mosega^ 
and  he  had  with  him  at  least  twelve  thousand  warriors,  all  splendidl}^ 
trained  and  as  brave  as  aii}^  troops  that  ever  lived.  But  the  advantage  of 
the  farmers  in  their  guns  and  horses  was  so  great  that  the  hundred  and 
thirty-five  did  not  hesitate  to  attack  a force  which  \vas  to  theirs  as  ninety  to 
one.  For  nine  da^^s  the  Matabele  tried  to  reach  their  opponents,  but  all 
their  efforts  w’ere  in  vain.  The  farmers  were  more  than  once  nearly  sur- 
rounded, still  their  plans  were  so  perfect  that  the}'  were  never  quite  en- 
trapped. They  had  little  else  than  dried  meat  to  live  upon,  and  they  had 
no  resting  place  but  the  bare  ground  with  a saddle  for  a pillow.  Only  the 
hardiest  of  men  and  horses  could  have  carried  on  aggressive  operations  so 
long.  The  loss  of  the  Matabele  was  great,  so  great  that  at  the  end  of  the 
nine  days  Moselekatse  gave  up  the  contest  and  sought  only  to  escape^ 
With  his  people  and  his  cattle  he  fled  to  the  north,  and  in  the  countiy 
be^^ond  the  Limpopo  commenced  to  destro}^  the  Mashona  tribe  as  he  had 
destroyed  the  southern  Betshuana.  The  farmers  were  too  wearied  to  follow 
him,  and  indeed  they  could  not  have  continued  in  the  field  much  longer 
under  any  circumstances,  so  the}^  contented  themselves  b}^  seizing  six  or 
seven  thousand  head  of  cattle,  with  which  they  returned  to  Winburg. 
After  the  flight  of  Aloselekatse,  Commandant  Potgieter  issued  a proclama- 
tion, in  which  he  declared  that  the  whole  of  the  territoiy  which  that  chief 
had  overrun  and  now  abandoned  was  forfeited  to  the  emigrants.  It 
included  the  greater  part  of  the  present  South  African  Republic,  fully  half 
of  the  present  Orange  Free  State,  and  the  whole  of  Southern  Betshuana- 
land  to  the  Kalahari  desert,  except  the  district  occupied  b}^  the  Batlapin. 
Tins  immense  tract  of  country  was  then  almost  uninhabited,  and  must  have 
remained  so  if  the  Alatabele  had  not  been  driven  out. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

(FIFTH  DECADE) 

THE  MEXICAN  WAR 

l^Resunte. — These  facts  are  to  be  remembered  in  connection  with  our  last  related  chapter — The  Webster - 
Hayne  debate — Clay’s  Tariff  Compromise — Jackson  and  the  United  States  Bank — Nullification  in 
South  Carolina — The  Seminole  War.] 

JN  1840  a iiortlierii  boundary  line  separated  us  from  British  North 
America.  A treaty  of  peace  was  made  after  the  war  for  independence, 
by  which  this  northern  boundary  was  made  to  run  from  the  St.  Croix 
River  to  the  Mississippi.  The  tract  of  territory  involved  was  indefinite, 
and  the  dispute  about  it  led  to  warfare.  In  1842  the  English  government 
sent  Lord  Ashburton  as  special  commissioner  to  settle  the  dispute,  and  he, 
with  Daniel  Webster,  who  was  then  Secretary  of  State,  established  the 
northeastern  boundary  as  it  now  stands.  The  territory  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi had  originally  been  claimed  by  Great  Britain  and  by  France.  The 
dividing  line  was  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  west  to  the  Rocky  Mountains 
on  the  forty-ninth  parallel.  When  the  great  struggle  between  England  and 
France  was  ended  in  1763,  France  ceded  to  England  all  her  territory  east 
of  the  Mississippi  and  to  Spain  all  that  she  claimed  west  of  that  river. 
When,  therefore,  Spain  ceded  back  to  France  what  she  had  received  in 
1763,  and  the  United  States  immediately  bought  the  same  of  France,  the 
boundary  continued  to  be  the  forty-ninth  parallel  on  the  north  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains  on  the  west.  But  Spain  still  claimed  the  Pacific  coast  as 
far  north  as  54°  40'.  She  then  held  Mexico  and  California,  and  her  vessels 
sailed  up  and  down,  trading  with  the  natives. 

England,  on  the  other  hand,  claimed  on  the  Pacific  coast  as  far  south 
as  the  forty-second  parallel,  which  was  the  northern  boundary  of  California. 
When  Spain  sold  Florida  to  the  United  States  in  1819  she  also  relinquished 
all  claim  to  the  country  north  of  the  forty-second  parallel  and  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 


163 


161 


THE  MEXICAN  WAR 


Whatever  claim  Spain  once  had  to  that  country  the  United  States  now 
received  from  her.  It  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  parallel  of  54°  40' 
on  the  south  by  the  parallel  of  42°,  and  it  lay  between  the  Pacific  Ocean 
and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  went  by  the  name  of  Oregon  and  included 
the  present  States  of  Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho,  and  a part  of  Montana, 
as  well  as  a part  of  British  Columbia.  The  United  States  rested  its  claim 
to  this  territory,  however,  on  other  grounds.  In  1836  a company  of  mis- 
sionaries was  sent  out  from  the  Eastern  States  to  the  Oregon  Indians.  One 
of  them.  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman,  was  a man  of  great  energy  and  foresight. 
He  saw  that  it  was  practicable  for  emigrant  trains  to  cross  the  mountains 
by  good  passes,  and  he  knew  that  if  he  could  make  this  general!}^  known, 
the  people  of  the  United  States  would  soon  occupy  the  country.  When 
Lord  Ashburton  came  in  1842  to  settle  with  Mr.  Webster  the  boundary  line 
between  the  British  possessions  and  the  United  States,  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  had  succeeded  in  keeping  out  almost  all  American  immigrants. 
They  had  laid  their  plans  also  to  bring  in  English  settlers  from  the  Red 
River  country  to  as  to  strengthen  the  British  claim  to  all  Oregon.  In  Oc- 
tober of  that  year  Dr.  Whitman  was  at  one  of  the  company’s  posts  when 
the  news  came  that  a large  body  of  English  settlers  was  at  hand.  He  saw 
at  once  what  this  meant.  With  only  a few  hours’  preparation,  he  set  off 
on  horseback,  determined  to  go  to  Washington.  He  meant  to  see  Mr. 
Webster,  to  tell  him  how  possible  it  was  for  the  United  States  to  occupy 
Oregon,  and  so  to  prevent  him  from  making  any  treaty  which  should  sur- 
render that  country.  It  was  a terrible  ride.  With  a companion  and  a guide, 
he  left  the  neighborhood  of  what  is  now  Walla  Walla  October  3,  1842.  Ex- 
actly three  months  afterwards  he  was  at  Santa  Fe,  having  braved  the  snow 
and  ice  and  wintry  blasts  of  an  almost  trackless  region.  He  pushed  on  to 
St.  Louis  and  then  to  Washington.  There  he  found'  that  the  treaty  had 
been  signed  but  that  Oregon  had  been  left  out  of  the  settlement  altogether. 
Dr.  Whitman’s  errand  was  to  make  clear  to  the  Administration  at  Wash- 
ington the  value  of  Oregon  and  then  to  organize  companies  of  immigrants. 
He  did  both.  In  the  following  summer  he  carried  a great  body  of  settlers 
over  the  mountains,  and  at  the  close  of  1844  there  were  three  thousand 
Americans  within  Oregon.  The  people  were  fast  deciding  the  question. 
Congress  now  took  up  the  matter  in  earnest.  There  were  some  who  called 
loudly  for  the  whole  country,  and  raised  the  cry  of  “Fifty-four  forty  or  fight,” 
meaning  that  the  parallel  of  54°  40'  must  be  made  the  northern  boundar3q 
and  a treaty  was  made  with  Great  Britain  in  1846  by  which  the  forty-ninth 
parallel  was  made  the  dividing  line  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 


THE  MEXICAN  WAR 


1G5 


On  the  southwestern  borders  of  our  republic  was  a sovereign  State 
called  Texas,  a part  of  the  domain  of  ancient  Alexico,  conquered  by  the 
Spaniards.  The  Mexicans  revolted  and  set  up  an  independent  government, 
which  became  a republic  under  a constitution  similar  to  that  of  the  United 
States,  and  was  divided  into  nineteen  States  and  five  Territories  ; Texas 
was  one  of  the  former.  The  Mexican  goveriiment  encouraged  emigration 
into  that  State,  and  in  1833,  ten  thousand  Americans  were  settled  there. 
Santa  Anna,  a restless,  unscrupulous  and  selfish  intriguer  and  revolutionist, 
had  made  himself  military  dictator  of  Mexico.  The  people  of  Texas, 
unwilling  to  submit  to  his  arbitrary  rule,  revolted,  and  in  1836  that  State 
was  declared  to  be  independent.  Santa  Anna  was  then  in  that  country  with 
a heavy  military  force  ; but  at  a battle  near  the  San  Jacinto  River,  late  in 
April,  he  was  defeated  b}^  General  Houston  and  made  a prisoner.  This 
ended  the  war  for  Texas  independence,  and  that  independence  was  acknowl- 
edged by  the  United  States  in  the  spring  of  1837.  people  of  Texas 

were  continually  harassed  by  Mexican  marauders  ; and  when,  in  1843, 
President  Tyler  made  a proposition  to  the  President  of  that  Republic  for 
its  annexation  to  the  United  States,  it  was  gladly  accepted.  A treaty  to 
that  effect  was  negotiated,  and  it  was  signed  in  April,  1844,  by  the  Texan 
commissioner  and  John  C.  Calhoun,  who  was  then  Secretary  of  State  ; but 
the  Senate  rejected  it.  The  country  was  soon  afterwards  violently  agitated 
by  discussions  on  the  subject  of  annexation.  The  chief  point  of  antag- 
onism lay  in  the  slavery  question,  the  friends  of  that  institution  being  all 
in  favor  of  the  measure,  while  its  opponents  were  firmly  opposed  to  it,  for 
they  regarded  it  as  a plan  for  strengthening  the  political  power  of  the 
slave-labor  States ; also  because  it  would  surely  lead  to  a war  with  Mexico, 
for  that  government  had  never  given  up  its  claim  to  Texas  as  one  of  the 
States  of  the  Republic.  This  question  entered  largely  into  the  canvass  for 
the  Presidency  in  1844.  Fc>r  that  high  office  James  K.  Polk  of  Tennessee, 
who  was  warmly  in  favor  of  the  annexation  of  Texas,  was  nominated  by 
the  Democrats,  and  George  M.  Dallas  of  Pennsylvania,  was  named  for  Vice- 
President.  They  were  elected  over  the  opposing  Whig  candidates,  Henry 
Clay,  of  Kentucky,  and  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  of  New  Jersey. 

The  friendship  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico  had  been  ex- 
tinguished some  years  before  the  annexation  of  Texas,  because  of  repeated 
aggressions  which  had  been  made  against  the  property  of  American  citizens 
on  the  soil  of  Mexico,  or  on  vessels  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Redress  had 
been  frequently  sought  in  vain.  Our  government  generously  forbore  to 
use  its  power  because  Mexico  was  weak  and  distracted,  and  the  latter  seemed 


166 


THE  MEXICAN  WAR 


to  consider  tliat  forbearance  as  an  evidence  of  cowardice.  Our  government 
claimed  six  million  dollars  for  spoliations  of  American  property  ; Mexico 
acknowledged  two  millions  as  a just  claim,  but  after  repeated  postpone- 
ments of  the  payment  of  this  amount,  the  government  of  Mexico  virtually 
refused  to  settle  the  claim.  This  conduct  alienated  the  confidence  and 
respect  of  our  government  and  people  for  Mexico ; and  yet,  in  all  the  dis- 
cussions concerning  the  annexation  of  Texas,  propositions  were  made  with 
Mexico.  That  government,  conscious  of  its  inability  to  hold  Texas,  had 
offered  to  acknowledge  its  independence,  provided  it  would  not  become 
annexed  to  our  Union.  Such  was  the  situation  when  the  joint  resolution 
providing  for  the  annexation  of  Texas  was  adopted  by  both  Houses  of 
Congress  on  the  28th  of  February,  1845,  was  signed  by  President  Tyler 
on  the  first  day  of  March.  Two  days  after  the  inauguration  of  President 
Polk,  General  Almonte,  the  Mexican  minister  at  Washington,  asked  and 
received  his  passports,  and  diplomatic  relations  between  the  government 
ceased.  The  President  of  Mexico,  Herrera,  issued  a proclamation  in  June 
following,  declaring  that  the  annexation  of  Texas  in  no  wise  destroyed  the 
rights  of  Mexico,  and  that  they  would  be  maintained  by  force  of  arms. 
Both  governments  prepared  for  war  when,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1845,  Texas 
became  a State  of  our  Union.  Satisfied  that  war  was  inevitable.  President 
Polk  ordered  brevet  Brigadier-General  Zachary  Taylor,  then  in  comnmnd  of 
national  troops  in  the  southwest,  to  enter  Texas  and  take  a position  as  near 
the  Rio  Grande  as  prudence  would  allow.  Plis  little  force  of  fifteen  hundred 
men  were  called  an  Army  of  Occupation  ” for  the  defence  of  the  newly- 
acquired  State.  'At  the  same  time  Commodore  Conner,  of  the  United  States 
Navy,  w’as  sent  with  a strong  squadron  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  protect 
American  interests  in  that  region,  ashore  and  afloat. 

At  that  time,  Santa  Anna  was  an  irritated  exile  in  Cuba,  having  been 
banished  from  Mexico  for  ten  years,  and  President  Polk  made  a secret 
bargain  with  him  for  the  betrayal  of  his  country  into  the  hands  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States.  The  plan  that  was  agreed  upon  was 
simple.  The  President  was  to  send  a strong  force  towards  the  frontier  of 
Mexico.  Santa  Anna  was  to  go  into  his  own  country  where  an  army  gath- 
ered near  that  frontier  would  be  sure  to  “ pronounce  ” for  him  as  their 
leader,  and  then  the  war  was  to  begin.  The  President  was  to  furnish  a 
force  sufficient  to  give  Santa  Anna  a decent  excuse  for  surrendering  his 
army  to  it  ; and  so  the  Americans  might  easily  take  possession  of  Mexico. 
For  this  important  act  Santa  Anna  was  to  receive  a very  large  sum  of  money 
from  the  secret  service  fund  in  the  hands  of  the  President.  The  Arni}^  of 


— 2;  (D 


IS  merged  into  American  operations  for  the  conquest  of  California. 


GENERAL  SCOTT  ENTERING  THE  CITY  OF  MEXICO. 

War  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico  i)egan  in  May,  184(1.  The  hero  of  the  war  was  General  MTnfield  Scott,  who,  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  12,000  men,  began  a n.areh 
from  Vera  Crnz  to  the  cai)ital.  After  an  uninterrupted  series  of  victories  tlie  city  of  Afexico  surrendered  September  14, 1847,  and  General  Scott  rode  into  the  cai)ital  in  triumph. 


THE  MEXICAN  WAR 


167 


Occupation  or  Observation,  as  it  was  alternately  called,  was  sent  into  Texas, 
and  A.  Slidell  jMeKeiizie,  of  the  United  States  Nav}^,  was  sent  to  Cuba  to 
perfect  the  arrangement  with  Santa  Anna,  who  was  living  a few  miles  from 
Havana.  Instead  of  going  secretly  to  the  retreat  of  the  exile,  IMcKenzie 
dressed  in  the  full  nniform  of  onr  naval  officers,  entered  a volante  in 
Havana,  at  noon-day,  and  in  sight  of  all  the  peo|)le  rode  out  to  the  dwelling- 
place  of  Santa  Anna.  This  folly  disconcerted  the  whole  plan.  After  this 
public  visit  from  an  officer  of  onr  navy,  the  exile  could  not  fulfill  his  bargain 
in  Mexico,  for  the  act  would  make  his  treason  palpable.  Earl 3^  in  1846 
General  Taylor  was  ordered  to  take  a position  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  opposite  the  Mexican  city  of  Matamoras,  for  it  was  observed  that 
Mexican  troops  were  gathering  there  with  the  evident  intention  of  invading 
Texas.  The  region  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande,  fronting  the  State 
of  Tamanlipas,  was  disputed  territor}^,  the  boundary  line  between  that  State 
and  Texas  not  having  been  defined.  Mexico  claimed  it  as  apart  of  Tamau- 
lipas,  Avhile  the  United  States  claimed  it  as  a part  of  Texas.  General 
Ta3dor  obe3^ed  his  orders  and  went  into  that  territoiy,  landing  at  Point 
Isabel,  about  twenty-eight  miles  from  Matamoras,  where  he  formed  a camp, 
despite  the  warnings  of  the  Mexicans  that  he  was  on  foreign  soil.  Leaving 
his  stores  and  a part  of  his  army  there,  he  proceeded  with  the  remainder  of 
his  force  to  the  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande,  opposite  Matamoras,  and  there 
began  the  eonstrnetioii  of  a fort  large  enough  to  accommodate  about 
two  thousand  men.  It  was  called  Fort  Brown  in  compliment  to  Major 
Brown,  who  was  left  in  command  there. 

General  Taylor  ordered  Major  Brown  to  fire  heavy  signal  guns  if  the 
fort  seemed  to  be  in  peril.  These  w^ere  fired  on  the  evening  of  the  6th  of 
Ma}^,  and  on  the  following  evening  Taylor,  with  more  than  two  thousand 
men,  marched  from  Point  Isabel  to  relieve  Fort  Brown.  He  had  been  rein- 
forced by  Texan  volunteers  and  marines  from  the  fleet.  At  noon  on  the  8th 
the}^  eneountered  a Mexican  army  six  thousand  strong,  led  b}^  General 
Arista,  upon  a portion  of  a prairie  flanked  by  ponds  of  water  and  beautified 
by  tall  trees,  whieh  gave  it  the  name  of  Palo  Alto.  Nothing  daunted, 
Ta3dor  and  his  men  attacked  this  superior  force,  and  fought  them  so  des- 
perately for  five  hours  that  at  twilight  the  Mexicans  gave  way  and  fled  in 
great  disorder.  The  victory  for  Taylor  was  thorough  and  complete,  and 
when  the  battle  was  ended  the  victors  sank  exhausted  upon  the  ground. 
They  had  lost  in  killed  and  wounded  fifty-three  men  ; the  Mexicans  had 
lost  about  six  hundred.  During  the  engagement  Major  Ringgold,  com- 
mander of  the  American  flying  artillery  whieh  did  terrible  work  in  the 


168 


THE  MEXICAN  WAR 


Mexican  ranks,  was  mortally  wonnded  by  a cannon  ball  that  passed  tbrongh 
one  thigh,  the  body  of  his  horse,  and  the  other  thigh.  Rider  and  steed  fell 
to  the  ground.  The  latter  was  dead;  the  Major  died  at  Point  Isabel  four 
days  afterwards.  Meanwhile  Fort  Brown  had  defied  the  shot  and  shell  from 
the  Mexican  batteries  ; and  when  on  the  8th  the  thunder  of  cannon  at  Palo 
Alto  announced  Taylor’s  approach,  the  garrison  took  fresh  courage  and  held 
out.  Their  works  had  endured  a cannonade  and  bombardment  for  about  one 
hundred  and  sixty  hours  without  receiving  much  hurt.” 

At  two  o’clock  in  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  May,  Taylor’s  army  were 
awakened  from  their  slumbers  on  the  battlefield  to  resume  their  march  for 
Fort  Brown.  Their  leader  prepared  for  an  attack  on  the  way,  for  the  broken 
force  of  the  enemy  had  been  rallied ; but  he  saw  no  traces  of  the  enemy 
until  toward  evening,  when,  as  the  Americans  emerged  from  a dense 
thicket,  the  Mexicans  were  discovered  strongly  posted  in  battle  order  in  a 
broad  ravine  that  indented  the  prairie,  called  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  or  Dry 
River  of  Palms.”  The  ravine  was  about  four  feet  deep  and  two  hundred  feet 
wide,  and  was  fringed  with  palmetto  trees.  It  was  the  bed  of  continuous  pools 
of  water  in  the  rainy  season,  but  was  dust  in  the  dry  season.  Within  that 
trench  the  Mexicans  had  planted  a battery  that  swept  the  road  over  which 
the  Americans  were  marching.  Taylor  pressed  forward,  and  after  some 
severe  skirmishing,  in  which  a part  of  his  army  was  engaged,  he  ordered 
Captain  May,  leader  of  dragoons,  to  charge  upon  the  battery.  That  gallant 
ofiicer  instantly  obeyed.  Rising  in  his  stirrups,  he  called  out  to  his  troops  : 
“ Remember  your  regiment ! hlen,  follow  !”  and  dashing  forward  in  the  face 
of  a shower  of  balls  from  the  battery  he  made  his  powerful  black  horse  leap 
the  parapet.  He  was  followed  by  a few  of  his  men,  whose  steeds  made  the 
fearful  leap.  The  gunners  were  killed  and  General  La  Vega  (who  was 
about  to  apply  a match  to  one  of  the  pieces)  and  a hundred  men  were  seized 
by  the  troopers,  made  prisoners,  and  were  borne  away  in  triumph  within 
the  American  lines.  The  battle  went  on,  growing  hotter  every  moment. 
The  almost  impenetrable  thicket  was  alive  with  Mexicans,  and  blazed  with 
the  fire  of  their  muskets.  The  strife  was  terrible  for  some  time,  but  at 
length  the  camp  and  headquarters  of  General  Arista,  the  commander-in- 
chief, were  captured,  and  the  enemy  was  completely  routed.  Arista  saved 
himself  by  flight,  and,  unattended,  he  made  his  way  across  the  Rio  Grande. 
So  sudden  was  his  discomfiture  and  departure  that  the  plate  and  other  pri- 
vate property  of  Arista,  with  correspondence,  arms,  ammunition,  and  equip- 
ments for  several  thousand  men,  and  two  thousand  horses  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  victors.  La  Vega  and  a few  other  captive  officers  were  sent  on  parol 


THE  MEXICAN  WAR 


1G9 


to  New  Orleans.  It  was  estimated  tliat  tlie  Mexicans  liad  over  seven  thou- 
sand men  on  that  battlefield  ; the  Americans  had  less  than  two  thousand. 
The  former  lost  about  a thousand  men  ; the  latter,  one  hundred  and  ten. 
The  Mexican  army  was  completely  broken  up. 

Leaving  the  battlefield  of  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  General  Taylor  returned 
to  Point  Isabel  to  make  arrangements  with  Commodore  Connor  for  future 
work,  and  then  proceeded  to  Fort  Brown  to  commence  offensive  operations 
there.  The  terrified  Mexicans  trembled  for  the  safety  of  Matamoras,  when 
Arista  sent  a deputation  to  Taylor  to  ask  for  an  armistice  until  the  two 
governments  should  arrange  the  dispute.  The  latter  would  not  trust  the 
treacherous  Mexican,  and  refused  the  boon.  It  was  afterwards  ascertained 
that  during  the  conference  Arista  had  removed  a large  quantity  of  amninni- 
tion  and  stores,  and  during  the  succeeding  night  (May  17,  1846)  retreated 
with  his  troops,  which  he  had  rallied,  to  the  open  country  towards  Monterey. 
Hearing  of  this,  Ta^dor  crossed  the  river  (May  18)  with  his  army,  and,  for 
the  first,  unfurled  the  American  fiag  over  undisputed  Mexican  soil. 

He  remained  at  Matamoras  until  the  beginning  of  September,  waiting 
for  instructions  from  his  government  and  reinforcements  for  his  army. 
Then  the  first  division  of  his  troops,  under  General  W.  J.  Worth,  moved 
towards  Monterey,  the  strongly  fortified  capital  of  New  Leon,  which  was 
then  defended  by  about  nine  thousand  troops  commanded  by  General 
Ampudia.  Taylor  joined  Worth,  and  on  the  19th  of  September  they 
encamped  within  three  miles  of  that  cit}^  with  almost  seven  thousand  men. 
On  the  night  of  the  20th,  Worth  moved  nearer  the  town,  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  he  attacked  it.  Joined  by  other  divisions  of  the  army,  the 
assault  became  general  on  the  23d,  and  a conflict  in  the  streets  was  dreadfuh 
From  the  strong  stone  houses,  the  Mexicans  poured  volle^^s  of  musketry 
upon  the  invaders,  and  the  carnage  was  severe.  Finally,  on  the  fourth  day 
of  the  siege,  Ampudia  asked  for  a truce.  It  was  granted,  and  he  proposed 
to  evacuate  the  city.  Taylor  would  grant  no  other  terms  than  absolute 
surrender,  which  was  done  on  the  24th  of  September.  Leaving  General 
Worth  in  command  at  Monterey,  Taylor  encamped  at  Walnut  Springs,  a 
few  miles  from  that  city,  and  there  awaited  further  orders  from  his  govern- 
ment. Santa  Anna  had  gone  into  Mexico,  and  was  now  at  the  head  of  its 
army ; and,  having  given  assurance  that  he  desired  peace,  Taylor  agreed  to 
a cessation  of  hostilities  for  eight  weeks,  if  permitted  by  his  government. 
In  the  siege  of  Monterey,  the  Americans  lost  over  five  hundred  men,  and 
the  Mexicans  about  double  that  number.  Just -as  General  Taylor  was  pre- 
paring to  enter  upon  a vigorous  winter  campaign,  he  was  compelled  to 


170 


THE  MEXICAN  WAR 


endure  a severe  trial  of  his  patience,  temper,  and  patriotism.  In  accord- 
ance with  his  recommendation,  his  government  had  sent  General  Scott, 
with  a considerable  force,  to  attempt  the  capture  of  Vera  Cruz,  and  from 
that  point  to  penetrate  to  the  Mexican  capital.  Scott  arrived  off  Vera  Cruz 
in  January,  1847,  being  the  senior  officer  of  the  arm}^  he  assumed  the 
chief  command  of  the  American  armies  in  Alexico.  To  effect  the  work 
which  his  government  had  ordered  him  to  do,  he  felt  compelled  to  draw 
from  General  Taylor’s  army  a large  number  of  his  best  officers  and  a 
greater  portion  of  his  regular  troops,  leaving  him  with  onl}^  about  five 
thousand  effective  men,  including  the  division  of  General  Wool ; and  of 
them  only  five  hundred  were  regulars.  Like  a true  soldier,  Taylor,  though 
greatly  mortified,  instantly  obe^^ed  the  chief’s  order  to  that  effect.  At  that 
time  Santa  Anna  had  gathered  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men  at  San 
Luis  Potosi.  He  had  also  been  elected  Provisional  President  of  Mexico  in 
December,  and  his  followers  were  full  of  enthusiasm  when,  on  the  ist  of 
February,  he  began  a march  toward  Saltillo,  with  the  avowed  intention  of 
drawing  the  Americans  beyond  the  Rio  Grande.  General  Wool,  at  Saltillo, 
had  kept  his  commander  advised  of  the  movements  of  Santa  Anna ; and 
when  Taylor  was  assured  that  the  Mexicans  were  realh^  moving  against 
him,  he  resolved,  weak  as  he  was  in  number,  to  fight  them.  On  the  31st  of 
January  he  left  Monterey  with  all  his  troops,  and  reached  Saltillo  on  the 
2d  of  February.  On  the  morning  of  the  2 2d  (1847),  Santa  Anna  and  his 
army  were  within  two  miles  of  Taylor’s  line  of  battle,  when  the  Mexican 
chief  sent  the  following  note  to  the  American  leader : “ You  are  surrounded 
by  twenty  thousand  men,  and  cannot,  in  any  human  probability,  avoid 
suffering  a rout,  and  being  cut  to  pieces,  with  your  troops  ; but  as  you 
deserve  consideration  and  particular  esteem,  I wish  to  save  you  from  such  a 
catastrophe,  and,  for  that  purpose,  give  yon  this  notice  in  order  that  you 
may  surrender  at  discretion,  under  the  assurance  that  you  will  be  treated 
with  the  consideration  belonging  to  the  Mexican  character ; to  which  end 
you  will  be  granted  an  hour’s  time  to  make  up  your  mind,  to  commence 
from  the  moment  that  1113^  flag  of  truce  arrives  at  your  camp.  With  this 
view,  I assure  yon  of  my  particular  consideration.  God  and  Libert}^ !” 

General  Ta\dor,  who  was  alwa^^s  “ ready,”  did  not  take  an  hour  to  con- 
sider the  matter,  but  immediately  replied  : “ Sir — In  reply  to  your  note  of 
this  date,  summoning  me  to  surrender  my  forces  at  discretion,  I beg  leave 
to  sa}^  that  I decline  acceding  to  your  request.  With  high  respect,  I am, 
sir,  yonr  obedient  servant,  Z.  Taylor.”  . 

The  Americans  waited  for  the  Mexicans  to  take  the  initiative.  It  was 


THE  MEXICAN  WAR 


171 


deferred  until  evening,  excepting  some  skirmishing  that  afternoon  and  all 
that  night.  While  the  American  troops  were  bivouacked  without  fire  and 
slept  on  their  arms,  the  Mexicans  were  in  detachments  in  the  mountains 
above  them,  trying  to  form  a cordon  of  soldiers  around  the  little  army  of 
Taylor  and  Wool,  then  less  than  five  thousand  in  iinmber.  Early  in  the 
morning  of  the  23d  the  battle  began  and  continued  all  day.  The  struggle 
was  terribly  severe,  and  the  slaughter  was  fearful.  Until  almost  sunset  it 
was  doubtful  who  would  triumph.  Then  the  Mexican  leader,  after  perform- 
ing the  pitiful  trick  of  displaying  a flag  in  token  of  surrender,  to  throw 
Taylor  off  his  guard,  made  a desperate  assault  on  the  American  centre, 
where  that  officer  was  in  command  in  person.  That  centre  stook  like  a rock 
against  the  billow.  The  batteries  of  Bragg,  Washington,  and  Sherman 
rolled  back  the  martial  wave,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  Mexican  lines 
began  to  waver.  General  Taylor,  standing  near  the  battery  of  Captain 
Bragg,  saw  signs  of  weakness  and  coolly  said  : “ Give  them  a little  more 
grape!”  Bragg  did  so,  when,  just  after  twilight,  the  Mexicans  gave  way 
and  fled  in  considerable  confusion.  Night  closed  the  battle ; but  expecting 
it  to  be  resumed  in  the  morning,  the  Americans  again  slept  on  their  arms  ; 
but  when  the  day  dawned,  no  enemy  was  to  be  seen.  Santa  Anna  had  fallen 
back  to  Aqua  Neuva,  and,  in  the  course  of  a few  days,  his  large  but  utterly 
amazed  and  dispirited  army  was  almost  dissolved.  In  the  flight  they  had 
left  five  hundred  of  their  comrades  dead  or  dying  on  the  field.  They  had 
lost  in  the  battle  almost  two  thousand  men  ; the  loss  of  the  Americans  in 
killed,  wounded,  and  missing  was  seven  hundred  and  forty-six.  A son  of 
Henry  Clay  was  among  the  slain.  On  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Buena 
Vista,  Captain  Webster  and  a small  party  of  Americans  drove  General 
Minon  and  eight  hundred  Mexicans  from  Saltillo.  Three  days  afterwards. 
Colonels  Morgan  and  Irwin  defeated  some  of  the  enemy  in  a skirmish  at 
Aqua  Frio,  and  on  the  7th  of  March  Major  Gidding  was  victorious  in  a 
conflict  at  Ceralvo.  Meanwhile  General  Taylor  had  marched  for  Walnut 
Springs,  near  Monterey,  where  he  remained  almost  inactive  several  months, 
and  in  September  (1847)  he  returned  home,  where  he  was  received  with  the 
liveliest  demonstrations  of  respect  and  honor  because  of  his  achievements. 
Three  years  afterwards  he  was  elected  President  of  the  United  States  by  the 
votes  of  the  Whig  party.  While  these  operations  were  in  progress  near  the 
Gulf,  other  events  of  importance  were  occurring  in  the  northern  part  of 
Mexico.  Stephen  W.  Kearney,  of  New  Jersey,  who  had  been  breveted 
Major-General  late  in  1846,  was  placed  in  command  of  the  “ Arni}^  of  the 
West”  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  in  the  spring  of  1847,  with  ii^structions  to 


172 


THE  MEXICAN  WAR 


conquer  New  Mexico  and  California.  Before  this  time,  Captain  John  C. 
Fremont,  who  had  been  sent  by  our  government,  with  about  sixty  men,  to 
explore  portions  of  New  Mexico  and  California,  had  become  involved  in  hos- 
, tilities  with  the  Mexicans  on  the  Pacific  coast.  When  he  approached  Mon- 
terey, on  that  coast,  he  was  opposed  by  General  Castro  and  a strong  party 
of  Mexicans.  Fremont  retired  to  a mountain  position,  where  he  called 
around  him  the  American  settlers  in  that  region,  and  captured  a Mexican 
post  at  Sonoma  Pass  (June  15,  1846),  with  nine  cannon  and  two  hundred 
and  fifty  muskets.  After  some  more  skirmishing,  Castro  was  routed,  the 
Mexicans  were  driven  from  that  region,  and  on  the  5th  of  Jul}^  the  Ameri- 
cans there  declared  themselves  independent,  and  placed  Fremont  at  the  head 
of  public  affairs.  Two  da^^s  afterward,  Commodore  Sloat,  who  was  in  com- 
mand of  an  American  squadron  on  the  Pacific  coast,  bombarded  and  captured 
Alonterey,  and  on  the  9th  Commodore  Montgomery  took  possession  of  San 
Francisco.  Almost  a week  later.  Commodore  Stockton  arrived  bn  that 
station  and  succeeded  Sloat  in  command,  and  on  the  17th  of  August  he  and 
Fremont  took  possession  of  the  city  of  Los  Angeles  (city  of  the  angels), 
near  the  Pacific  coast,  now  the  capital  of  Los  Angeles  County,  California. 

General  Kearney  left  Fort  Leavenworth  with  sixteen  hundred  men  in 
June,  and  on  the  i8th  of  August,  after  a march  of  almost  nine  hundred 
miles,  he  arrived  at  Santa  Fe,  the  capital  of  New  Mexico.  He  had  traversed 
great  plains  and  rugged  mountain  passes  without  opposition,  and  as  he 
approached  Santa  Fe  the  governor  and  four  thousand  Mexican  troops  fled, 
leaving  the  six  thousand  inhabitants  of  the  city  to  quietly  surrender  it. 
Kearney  took  full  possession  of  the  State,  appointed  Charles  Bent  Governor, 
and  then  pushed  on  toward  California.  He  soon  met  a messenger  from 
Stockton  and  Fremont  informing  him  that  the  conquest  of  California  was 
already  achieved ; then  Kearney  sent  the  main  body  of  his  troops  back  to 
Santa  Fe,  and  with  one  hundred  men  he  pushed  on  toward  Los  Angeles. 
There,  on  the  27th  of  December,  1846,  Kearney  met  Stockton  and  Fremont, 
and  these  three  officers  shared  in  the  honors  of  the  events,  soon  afterward 
accomplishing  the  complete  conquest  and  pacification  of  California. 


CHAPTER  XX 


(FIFTH  DECADE) 

ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  AND  AFRICA 


\_Resn}iie. — The  death  of  George  IV,  and  accession  of  William  IV,  led  us  lately  to  a consideration  of 
the  Reform  bill,  and  the  main  events  distinguishing  the  ministries  of  Melbourne,  Grey  and  Peele. 
Queen  Victoria  came  to  the  throne  in  the  last  decade.] 

A“  REFORM  ” bill,  tlie  political  origin  of  wliicb  was  determined  by 
the  reactionary  events  in  France,  asked  Parliament  to  take  away  the 
right  of  representation  from  some  fifty  “ rotten  ” boroughs.  The 
bill  was  passed  by  the  new  House  of  Commons.  On  its  defeat  the  Ministry 
appealed  to  the  country.  The  new  House  of  Commons  at  once  passed  the 
bill,  and  so  terrible  was  the  agitation  produced  by  its  rejection  by  the  Lords, 
that  on  its  subsequent  reintroduction  the  Peers  who  opposed  it  withdrew 
and  suffered  it  to  become  a law.  The  Reformed  Parliament  which  met  in 
1833,  did  much  by  the  violence  and  inexperience  of  many  of  its  new 
members,  and,  especially,  by  the  eonduct  of  O’Connell,  to  produce  a feeling 
of  reaction  in  the  country.  On  the  resignation  of  Lord  Grey,  in  1834,  the 
Ministry  was  reconstituted  under  the  leadership  of  Viscount  Melbourne  ; 
and  although  this  administration  was  soon  dismissed  by  the  King,  whose 
sympathies  had  now  veered  round  to  the  Tories,  and  was  succeeded  for  a 
short  time  b^^  a Ministry  under  Sir  Robert  Peel  ; a general  election  again 
returned  a Whig  Parliament,  and  replaced  Lord  Melbourne  in  office. 

When  Queen  Victoria  came  to  the  throne  the  dispute  with  China  over 
opium  was  going  on.  Here  is  the  plain  language  used  concerning  it  by  an 
eloquent  British  historian,  Justin  McCarthy,  M.  P.  : 

“The  Opium  War  broke  out  soon  after.  Reduced  to  plain  words,  the 
principle  for  which  England  fought  in  the  China  war  was  the  right  of  Great 
Britain  to  force  a peculiar  trade  upon  a foreign  people  in  spite  of  the  protes- 
tation of  the  Government  and  all  such  public  opinion  as  there  was  of  the 

173 


174 


ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  AND  AFRICA 


nation.  The  whole  principle  of  Chinese  civilization,  at  the  time  when  the 
Opium  War  broke  out,  was  based  on  conditions  which  to  any  modern  nation 
must  seem  erroneous  and  unreasonable.  The  Chinese  Government  and 
people  desired  to  have  no  political  relations  or  dealings  whatever  with  any 
other  state.  They  were  not  so  obstinately  set  against  private  and  com- 
mercial dealings ; but  the}^  would  have  no  political  intercourse  with 
foreigners,  and  they  would  not  even  recognize  the  existence  of  foreign 
peoples  as  states.  They  were  perfectly  satisfied  with  themselves  and  their 
own  systems.  The  one  thing  which  China  asked  of  European  civilization 
and  the  movement  called  Modern  Progress,  was  to  be  let  alone.  . . . The 
charter  and  the  exclusive  rights  of  the  East  India  Company  expired  in 
April,  1834;  the  charter  was  renewed  under  different  conditions,  and  the 
trade  with  China  was  thrown  open.  One  of  the  great  branches  of  the  East 
India  Company’s  business  with  China  was  the  opium  trade.” 

When  the  trading  privileges  ceased  this  trafdc  was  taken  up  briskly  by 
private  merchants,  who  bought  of  the  Compaii}^  the  opium  which  they  grew 
in  India  and  sold  it  to  the  Chinese.  The  Chinese  Government,  and  all 
teachers,  moralists,  and  persons  of  education  in  China,  had  long  desired  to 
get  rid  of  or  put  down  this  trade  in  opium.  They  considered  it  highly  det- 
rimental to  the  morals,  the  health,  and  the  prosperity  of  the  people.  All 
traffic  ill  opium  was  strictl}^  forbidden  by  the  Government  and  laws  of 
China.  Yet  English  traders  carried  on  a brisk  and  profitable  trade  in  the 
forbidden  article.  Nor  was  this  merely  an  ordinary  smuggling,  or  a busi- 
ness akin  to  that  of  blockade  running  during  the  American  civil  war.  The 
arrangements  with  the  Chinese  Government  allowed  the  existence  of  all 
establishments  and  machiner}'-  for  canying  on  a general  trade  at  Canton  and 
IMacao ; under  cover  of  these  arrangements  the  opium  traders  set  up  their 
regular  headquarters  in  these  towns.  The  English  Government  appointed 
superintendents  to  manage  commercial  dealings  with  China.  Misunder- 
standings occurred  at  every  new  step  of  negotiation.  These  misunder- 
standings were  natural. 

The  Chinese  believed  from  the  first  that  the  superintendents  were  there 
merely  to  protect  the  opium  trade,  and  to  force  on  China  political  relations 
with  the  West.  Practically  this  was  the  effect  of  their  presence.  The 
superintendents  took  no  steps  to  aid  the  Chinese  authorities  in  stopping  the 
hated  trade.  The  British  traders  naturall}^  enough  thought  that  the  British 
Government  were  determined  to  protect  them  in  carr^dng  it  on.  At  length 
the  English  Goverumeut  announced  that  ‘Aier  ]\Iajest3"’s  Government  could 
not  interfere  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  British  subjects  to  violate  the  laws 


ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  AND  AFRICA 


175 


of  the  country  with  which  they  trade and  that  “ any  loss  therefore  which 
such  persons  may  suffer  in  consequence  of  the  more  effectual  execution  of 
the  Chinese  laws  on  this  subject  must  be  borne  b}^  the  parties  who  have 
brougdit  that  loss  on  themselves  by  their  own  acts.”  This  ver}^  wise  and 
proper  resolve  came,  however,  too  late.  The  British  traders  had  been 
allowed  to  go  on  for  a long  time  under  the  full  conviction  that  the  protec- 
tion of  the  English  Government  was  behind  them  and  wholly  at  their 
service.  When  the  Chinese  authorities  actually  proceeded  to  insist  on  the 
forfeiture  of  an  immense  quantity  of  opium  in  the  hands  of  British  traders 
and  took  other  harsh,  but  certainly  not  unnatural  measures  to  extinguish 
the  traffic.  Captain  Elliott,  the  chief  superintendent,  sent  to  the  Governor 
of  India  a request  for  as  many  ships  of  war  as  could  be  spared  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  life  and  property  of  Englishmen  in  China.  Before  long 
British  ships  arrived,  and  the  two  countries  were  at  war.  “ It  was,”  sa^vs 
an  English  authority,  “ easy  work  enough  so  far  as  England  was  concerned. 
It  was  on  our  side  nothing  but  a succession  of  cheap  victories.  The 
Chinese  fought  very  bravely  in  a great  maii}^  instances,  and  they  showed 
still  more  often  a Spartan-like  resolve  not  to  survive  defeat.  When  one  of 
the  Chinese  cities  was  taken  by  Sir  Hugh  Gough,  the  Tartar  general  went 
into  his  house  as  soon  as  he  saw  that  all  was  lost,  made  his  servants  set  fire 
to  the  building  and  calmly  sat  in  his  chair  until  he  was  burned  to  death. 
We  quickly  captured  the  island  of  Chusan  on  the  east  coast  of  China;  a 
part  of  our  squadron  went  up  the  Peiho  River  to  threaten  the  capital ; 
negotiations  were  opened  and  the  preliminaries  of  a treaty  were  made  out, 
to  which,  however,  neither  the  English  Government  nor  the  Chinese  would 
agree,  and  the  war  was  reopened.  Chusan  was  again  taken  by  us.  Ningpo, 
a large  city  a few  miles  in  on  the  mainland,  fell  into  our  hands  ; Amoy, 
farther  south,  was  captured ; our  troops  were  before  Nankin,  when  the 
Chinese  Government  at  last  saw  how  futile  was  the  idea  of  resisting.  They 
made  peace  at  last  on  any  terms  we  chose  to  ask.  We  asked  in  the  first 
instant  the  cession  in  perpetuity  to  us  of  the  island  of  Hong-Kong.  Of 
course  we  got  it.  Then  ^ve  asked  that  ports.  Canton,  Amo}^  Foo*Chow-Foo, 
Ningpo,  and  Shanghai,  should  be  thrown. open  to  British  traders,  and  that 
consuls  should  be  established  there.  This,  too,  was  conceded.  Then  it  Avas 
agreed  that  the  indemnity  already  mentioned  should  be  paid  b}^  the  Chinese 
Government — some  four  millions  and  a half  sterling,  in  addition  to  one  mil- 
lion and  a quarter  as  compensation  for  the  destroyed  opium.  The  Chinese 
war  then  was  over  for  the  time.  But  as  the  children  sa}^  that  snow  brings 
more  snow,  so  did  that  war  with  China  bring  other  wars  to  follow  it.” 


176 


ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  AND  AFRICA 


The  deceptive  quiet  in  Afghanistan  which  followed  the  sharp  lessons 
administered  to  the  Dooranees  and  the  Ghilzais  was  not  seriously  disturbed 
during  the  month  of  September,  1841,  and  Macnaghten,  the  Governor  of 
Bombay,  was  in  a full  glow  of  cheerfulness.  The  belief  that  he  would 
leave  behind  him  a quiescent  Afghanistan,  and  Shah  Soojah  firmly  estab- 
lished on  its  throne,  was  the  compliment  to  a proud  and  zealous  man  of  the 
satisfaction  which  his  promotion  afforded.  One  distasteful  task  he  had  to  per- 
form before  he  should  go.  The  Home  Government  had  become  seriousl}^  dis- 
quieted by  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Afghanistan.  The  Secret  Committee  of 
the  Court  of  Directors,  the  channel  through  which  the  ministry  communi- 
cated with  the  Governor-General,  had  expressed  great  concern  at  the  heavy 
burden  imposed  on  the  Indian  finances  by  the  cost  of  the  maintenance  of  the 
British  force  in  Afghanistan,  and  by  lavish  expenditure  of  the  administration 
which  Macnaghten  directed.  The  Anglo-Indian  Government  was  urgently 
required  to  review  with  great  earnestness  the  question  of  its  future  policy 
in  regard  to  Afghanistan,  and  to  consider  gravely  whether  an  enterprise  at 
once  so  costly  and  so  unsatisfactory  in  results  should  not  be  frankl}^  aban- 
boned.  Lord  Auckland  was  alive  to  the  difficulties  and  embarrassments 
which  encompassed  the  position  beyond  the  Indus,  but  he  was  loth  to 
admit  that  the  policy  of  which  he  had  been  the  author,  and  in  which  the 
Home  Government  had  abetted  him  so  eagerly,  was  an  utter  failure.  He 
and  his  advisers  finally  decided  in  favor  of  the  continued  occupation  of 
Afghanistan,  and  since  the  Indian  treasury  was  empty,  and  the  annual 
charge  of  that  occupation  was  not  less  than  a million  and  a quarter  sterling, 
recourse  was  had  to  a loan.  Macnaghten  was  pressed  to  effect  economies 
in  the  administration,  and  he  was  specially  enjoined  to  cut  down  the  sub- 
sidies which  were  paid  to  Afghan  chiefs  as  bribes  to  keep  them  quiet. 
iMacnaghten  had  objected  to  this  retrenchment,  pointing  out  that  the  stipends 
to  the  chiefs  were  simply  compensation  for  the  abandonment  by  them  of 
their  immemorial  practice  of  highway  robbery,  but  he  yielded  to  pressure, 
called  to  Cabul  the  chiefs  in  its  vicinity  and  informed  them  that  thenceforth 
their  subsidies  would  be  reduced.  The  chiefs  strongly  remonstrated,  but 
without  effect,  and  they  then  formed  a confederac}^  of  rebellion.  The 
Ghilzai  chiefs  were  the  first  to  act.  Quitting  Cabul  they  occupied  the  passes 
between  the  capital  and  Jellalabad,  and  entirely  intercepted  the  communi- 
cations with  India  by  the  Kh3^ber  route. 

Let  the  famous  war  correspondent,  Archibald  Forbes,  tell  the  rest  of 
the  stoiy  : In  the  more  open  country  between  Futtehabad  and  Jellalabad, 
the  hillmen  made  themselves  exceeding  obnoxious,  so  that  at  length  Broad- 


ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  AND  AFRICA 


177 


foot  persuaded  Oldfield  to  charge  them  with  his  cavalry,  Broadfoot  engaging 
to  support  with  his  sappers.  Oldfield  cut  up  sixt}^  or  seventy  of  the  eneni}^ ; 
while  Broadfoot  swept  the  hills  clear  of  assailants.  The  same  night  the 
brigade  encamped  under  the  walls  of  Jellalabad,  and  next  day  entered  the 
place.  An  inspection  showed  the  works  surrounding  the  town  to  be  inde- 
fensible against  a vigorous  assault  in  their  existing  condition.  But  it  was 
decided  to  hold  the  place ; Broadfoot,  as  garrison  engineer,  undertaking  to 
restore  its  defences  so  as  to  render  them  secure  against  Afghan  attacks. 
Broadfoot  had  undertaken  an  arduous  task.  The  encienteof  Jellalabad  was 
greatly  too  extensive  for  the  small  force  of  defenders.  Its  tracing  was 
vicious  in  the  extreme ; it  had  no  parapet  to  speak  of ; the  ramparts  were 
so  dilapidated  that  there  were  roads  across  and  over  them  into  the  countr}^  ; 
the  fire  zone  was  cumbered  with  ruined  structure  affording  near  cover  to  the 
enemy,  who  were  already  encircling  the  position  so  menacingly  that  the  work 
of  repair  could  not  be  commenced.  They  swejDt  the  walls  with  their  fire,  and 
in  derision  their  braves  danced  to  the  music  of  a bagpipe  on  an  adjacent 
elevation,  which  was  thenceforth  known  as  Piper’s  Hill.  But  the  Afghans 
did  not  stand  before  the  sortie  which  Colonel  Monteath  executed  on  the  15th. 
They  fled  with  a heavy  loss ; supplies  then  began  to  come  in  from  the  ad- 
jacent country,  and  Broadfoot  was  able  to  begin  the  work  of  repairing  the 
fortifications.  His  sappers,  a strange  corps  of  Hindustanees,  Goorkhas,  and 
Afghans  of  every  tribe,  were  workmanlike,  valiant,  disciplined,  and  lo^^al. 
With  provident  forethought  he  had  exacted  by  sheer  masterfulness  from 
the  Cabul  stores  a supply  of  entrenching  tools,  which  proved  simply  the 
salvation  of  the  Jellalabad  garrison.  All  hands  worked  vigorously,  and  the 
repairs  were  well  forward  when  on  the  29th  the  Afghans  came  down  again 
and  opened  fire  on  the  place.  Ammunition  was  short  in  the  garrison — not 
above  one  hundred  and  fifty  rounds  per  man — and  the  force  at  the  head  of 
which  Colonel  Dennie  sallied  out  had  strict  orders  to  husband  their  cart- 
ridges. Nevertheless  he  punished  the  Afghans  severely,  and  as  the  result 
of  this  spirited  repulse  the  garrison  enjoyed  a period  of  repose.  At  the  end 
of  the  year  came  a disheartening  letter  from  Pottinger  in  Cabul,  confirming 
the  rumor  already  current  of  the  murder  of  the  Envoy  and  of  the  virtual 
capitulation  entered  into  by  the  Cabul  force  on  the  plea  of  starvation  and 
consequent  imperious  necessity. 

On  January  8,  1842,  Sale  received  from  Cabul  an  oflicial  communication 
signed  by  Pottinger  as  “ political,”  and  by  General  Elphinstone  as  chief 
military  officer,  dated  December  29.  It  was  brought  in  by  three  Afghans 
of  consequence,  which  tended  to  show  that  it  was  written  under  duress  ; and 

12 


178 


ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  AND  AFRICA 


its  terms  confirmed  that  impression.  This  humiliating  document  set  forth 
that  the  British  authorities  at  Cabul  had  found  it  necessary  to  conclude  an 
agreement  for  the  evacuation  of  Afghanistan,  in  pursuance  of  which  the 
brigade  occupying  Jellalabad  was  ordered  to  begin  an  immediate  retreat  on 
India,  leaving  the  fortress  guns  in  the  hands  of  a new  governor  of  Jellala- 
bad appointed  by  the  ruling  power  in  Cabul,  and  also  the  stores  and  baggage 
for  which  the  brigade  might  not  have  transport.  “ Everything,”  so  ran  this 
instruction,  “ has  been  done  in  good  faith  ; you  will  not  be  molested  on  your 
wa}^ ; and  to  the  safe-conduct  which  Akbar  Khan  has  given  I trust  for  the 
passage  of  the  troops  under  my  immediate  orders  through  the  passes.” 
Sale  summoned  his  commanding  officers  to  a council  of  war,  which  was 
unanimous  in  favor  of  disobeying  the  humiliating  mandate.  Broadfoot, 
with  Havelock  at  his  back,  contended  vigorousl}^  that  there  was  no  force  in 
an  order  by  a superior  officer  who,  being  no  longer  a free  agent,  issued  it 
under  duress  ; and  Sale  was  outspoken  in  his  repudiation  of  the  abandon- 
ment of  Jellalabad.  No  doubt  he  was  stiffened  in  this  resolve  by  recently- 
received  intelligence  that  Colonel  Wild,  with  reinforcements  from  India, 
was  already  at  Jumrood  on  his  march  up  the  passes.  But  disastrous  tidings 
came  thick  and  fast.  The  news  from  Cabul  was  most  ominous.  A letter 
received  on  January  to,  reported  the  British  people  there  to  be  in  the  most 
deplorable  condition,  completely  at  the  nierc\^  of  their  enemies  ; another  reach- 
ing Jellalabad  on  the  I2th,  stated  that  the  cantonments  had  been  abandoned 
and  the  march  commenced,  but  that  the  mass  of  forlorn  wayfarers  were  de- 
tained at  Bootkhak,  hemmed  in  by  the  horsemen  of  Akbar  Khan.  And 
finall}^  about  2 P.  M.  of  the  following  day — Januar}^  13 — the  worst  apprehen- 
sions were  more  than  fulfilled  by  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Brydon,  the  sole  survivor, 
save  a few  prisoners  and  same  native  stragglers,  of  the  sixteen  hundred  who 
had  marched  from  Cabul  cantonment  on  the  dreary  morning  of  January  6. 
Havelock,  an  eye-witness  of  Brydon’s  arrival,  thus  describes  the  scene : 
“ About  2 o’clock  on  the  13th  of  January,  some  officers  were  assembled 
on  the  roof  of  the  loftiest  house  in  Jellalabad.  One  of  them  espied  a 
single  horseman  riding  towards  our  walls.  As  he  got  nearer  it  was  dis- 
tinctl}^  seen  that  he  wore  European  clothes,  and  was  mounted  on  a travel- 
hacked  yahoo,  or  hill  pony,  which  he  was  urging  on  with  all  speed  of 
which  it  yet  remained  master. 

“ A signal  was  made  to  him  by  some  one  on  the  walls,  which  he  answered 
b}^  waving  a private  soldier’s  forage  cap  over  his  head.  The  Cabul  gate  was 
then  thrown  open,  and  several  officers  rushing  out  received  and  recognized  in 
the  traveler  who  dismounted  the  first,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  the  last,  fugitive  of 


imposing  cereiuouies,  was  opened  to  commerce  November  17,  1869. 


^■LoUBtr 

of  FRANCE 


opo?ia.5S 


^il.MtKiNLE^;’ 

IV  PRLStOENT 
OF  r»£^ 

l' 


Kruger. 

JoutmArwcah  REW^ 


- ^ JwisifoNFEOF-R^^^ 


PllKSIDFA’TS  OF  FIVF  GF.FAT  RKFl  IiLICS. 

Emile  Loubet,  born  in  1SR8  ; elected  1899.  Wm.  McKinley,  born  in  1843  ; elected  1896. 

Porfirio  I>ia/,  born  in  1830  ; re-electe<l  1900.  M.  Miiller,  born  in  1848  ; elected  in  1897. 

S.  .1.  Paulos  Kniger,  born  in  1825;  elected  (.5th  term)  in  1898. 


ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  AND  AFRICA 


179 


tlie  ill-fated  force  at  Cabiil,  in  Dr.  Brydeii.  He  was  covered  with  sligdit  cuts 
and  contusions,  and  dreadfully  exhausted.  His  first  few  hasty  sentences 
extinguished  all  hope  in  the  hearts  of  the  listeners  regarding  the  fortune  of 
the  Cabnl  force.  Countenances  full  of  sorrow  and  dejection  were  iin me- 
diately seen  in  eveiy  corner  of  Jellalabad  ; all  labor  was  suspended;  the 
working  parties  recalled  ; the  assembly  sounded  ; the  gates  were  closed,  and 
the  walls  and  batteries  manned,  and  the  cavalry  stood  ready  to  mount.  The 
first  impression  was  that  the  enemy  was  rapidly  following  a crowd  of  fugi- 
tives in  upon  the  walls,  but  three  shots  only  were  heard ; and  Avhen  the 
effervescence  in  some  measure  subsided,  not  an  Afghan  could  be  discovered. 
But  the  recital  of  Dr.  Brydon  filled  all  hearers  with  horror,  grief,  and  indig- 
nation.” Broadfoot  took  out  some  of  his  sappers,  on  the  supposition  that 
the  massacre  was  proceeding  close  at  hand,  but  was  recalled.  On  coming 
in  he  found  “ the  gates  shut,  and  the  general  and  all  the  officers  over  the 
Cabnl  gate,  the  poor  general  looking  out  with  a spy-glass  Cabul-wards.  A 
bonfire  was  burnt  at  night  on  a bastion,  and  the  buglers  ever}^  half-hour 
for  three  nights  sounded  the  advance.  But  the  sound  rallied  none  from  out 
the  long  valley  of  slaughter.  Broadfoot  was  a man  of  prompt  decision. 
He  did  not  share  the  hope  of  early  assistance  from  Wild’s  force,  and  he  was 
by  no  means  sure  of  the  fortitude  in  extremity  of  Sale  and  his  political 
adviser,  Macgregor.  As  he  came  back  into  Jellalabad  with  his  sappers,  he 
thought  out  the  problem  ; he  climbed  the  archwa}^  of  the  Cabnl  gate  ; sought 
out  Havelock,  and  desired  him  to  impress  on  the  general  that  unless  he  were 
resolutely  prepared  to  hold  the  place  to  the  last  extremity,  that  very  night 
was  the  time  for  his  retirement.  Sale’s  answer  was  that  he  was  firmly 
decided  to  hold  on,  and  he  announced  to  the  Comniander-in-Chief  his  resolve 
to  persevere  in  a most  determined  defence,  relying  on  the  promise  of  earl}^ 
relief.  But  no  early  relief  came  ; Wild’s  brigade  failed  to  penetrate  the 
Khyber;  Sale  was  informed  of  its  defeat,  and  told  that  the  Jellalabad  gar- 
rison had  no  recourse  but  to  work  out  its  own  salvation.  On  the  back  of 
those  sombre  tidings  there  came  to  Macgregor  from  Shah  Soojah,  the  still 
extant  puppet-monarch,  a curt  letter,  evidently  written  under  dictation.  It 
ran  : ‘ Your  people  have  concluded  a treaty  with  us  ; you  are  still  in  Jella- 
labad ; what  are  your  intentions  ? Tell  ns  quickly.’  ” 

In  the  face  of  the  ill  news  from  Peshawnr,  Sale’s  resolve  to  hold 
Jellalabad  to  the  last  extremity  had  collapsed.  He  allowed  Macgregor  to 
consider  certain  proposals  from  Akbar  Khan,  who  was  in  the  vicinit}" ; and 
then  he  called  a council  of  war  which  assembled  at  his  quarters  on  January 
27.  Probably  there  has  never  been  in  the  military  history  of  the  English 


180 


ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  AND  AFRICA 


nation  a more  momentous  and  interesting  assemblage  of  tbis  kind.  “ On 
its  decision  pivoted  our  ‘prestige  of  India ; perhaps  even  our  tenure  of 
India.”  The  proceedings  of  this  “Jellalabad  parliament,”  as  Broadfoot 
calls  it,  were  recorded  by  Havelock  in  his  capacity  of  Sale’s  staff-officer : 

“ The  question  of  exchanging  hostages  was  keenly  debated.  Broadfoot 
held  Afghan  hostages  to  be  utterly  worthless  in  their  hands,  so  long  as  the 
enemy  held  their  hostages  and  prisoners.  Sale  said  if  he  were  attacked 
he  would  execute  a hostage.  Broadfoot’s  crushing  retort  was  that  the 
enemy  would  hang  two  of  the  captive  ladies  before  Sale’s  face  for  every 
hostage  he  executed.”  He  opposed  the  giving  of  a hostage  as  disgraceful. 
Colonel  Monteath  said,  nobody  would  go.  Broadfoot  replied,  he  would  go 
if  ordered,  as  a soldier  under  discipline,  but  if  the  capitulation  was  once 
agreed  to,  he  would  hold  himself  free  to  act  on  the  first  shot  in  violation  of 
it.  Then,  for  once,  Oldfield  lifted  up  his  voice  in  the  discussion.  He  spoke 
to  the  point : “ I,  for  one,  will  fight  here  to  the  last  drop  of  my  blood,  but 
I plainly  declare  that  I will  never  be  a hostage,  and  I am  surprised  that 
any  one  should  propose  such  a thing,  or  think  that  an  Afghan’s  word  is  to 
be  taken  for  anything.”  Oldfield’s  outbreak  carried  weight.  The  proposal 
to  treat  for  a surrender  was  carried,  Oldfield  only  voting  with  Broadfoot 
against  it ; but  the  stipulations  regarding  hostages  were  omitted. 

Dennie,  when  the  council  had  broken  up,  rashly  revealed  its  resolve  to 
evacuate  the  place.  Havelock  rushed  at  him,  entreating  him  to  silence  for 
the  sake  of  maintaining  the  spirits  of  the  soldiers.  More  practically  Broad- 
foot contributed  to  that  end  by  immediately  setting  the  whole  garrison  to 
dig  a ditch  round  the  fortifications.  By  and  by  the  answer  came  back  from 
Cabul : “ If  you  are  sincere  in  your  offers,  let  all  the  chief  gentlemen  affix 
their  seals.”  During  the  interval  Broadfoot’s  argument  had  told  on  the 
majority  of  the  council.  When  it  met  again  he  was  supported  by  all  its 
members,  except  Sir  Robert  Sale  and  Captain  Macgregor,  who  remained 
obstinately  blind  to  the  lesson  of  the  Cabul  disaster.  A reply  was  sent 
which  did  not  convey  a continuation  of  the  negotiation  ; the  Jellalabad 
council  of  war  was  dissolved,  and  the  credit  of  its  resolve  not  to  comply 
with  the  humiliating  proposal  of  Sale  and  Macgregor  belongs  to  Broadfoot, 
who  was  firmly  though  unostentatiously  supported  by  Havelock.  There 
was  thenceforth  no  more  talk  of  surrender,  nor  was  the  courage  of  the  gar- 
rison daunted  even  when  the  earthquake  of  February  19  shook  the 
newly-repaired  ramparts  into  utter  ruin.  Broadfoot  inspired  the  garrison 
with  his  indomitable  energy,  and,  in  Havelock’s  words,  “ by  the  end  of  the 
month  the  parapets  were  entirely  restored,  the  Cabul  gate  rendered  service- 


ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  AND  AFRICA 


181 


fii.'e,  t!ie  bastions  restored  or  filled  in,  and  every  battery  re-established.” 
T.ic  sobbers,  invigorated  by  fine  air  and  enforced  temperance — the  rum  was 
long  siuee  done — were  in  admirable  condition.  “ A long  course  of  sobriety 
and  labor,”  he  remarks,  “ has  made  men  of  mere  boys  of  recruits,  and 
brought  the  almost  raw  levy  which  formed  two-thirds  of  the  array  of  the 
Thirteenth,  to  the  firm  standard  of  Roman  discipline.”  General  Pollock 
was  known  to  be  making  energetic  preparations  for  forcing  the  passes 
between  Peshawur  and  Jellalabad.  But  he  did  not  expect  to  reach  the  latter 
place  before  the  end  of  April ; and  the  garrison  had  been  on  half  rations 
from  soon  after  the  new  year.  Havelock’s  estimate  was  reduced  rations, 
chiefly  of  grain,  till  April  13,  contrivance  for  ten  days  longer,  and  after 
that  inevitable  starvation.  However,  on  April  i,  a sally  resulted  in  the 
acquisition  of  some  five  hundred  sheep,  which  contributed  to  restore  the  sit- 
uation. Jellalabad  had  been  invested  more  or  less  closely  by  Akbar  Khan 
since  February  15,  and,  in  consequence  of  the  non-evacuation  of  the  place, 
large  reinforcements  to  him  were  threatened  from  Cabul.  There  was  sharp 
fighting  on  several  days  of  March,  always  in  favor  of  our  people ; and  with 
the  accession  of  the  meat  suppl}^  Havelock  tried  hard  to  stir^ale  to  raise 
the  siege  by  the  garrison’s  own  exertions  as  the  result  of  a bold  attack  on 
Akbar.  Sale  shrank  from  the  responsibility. 

On  April  6 the  Afghan  prince  fired  a salute  in  honor  of  a suppositi- 
tious victory  over  Pollock  in  the  lower  passes.  Then  the  senior  officers 
plainly  told  Sir  Robert  that  they  were  resolved  on  attacking  Akbar.  Thus 
braced  he  was  fain  to  consent,  and  the  plan  of  attack  for  the  following  day 
was  <lrawn  up  by  Havelock.  Three  infantry  columns  marched  silently  out 
at  dawn  of  the  7th,  Dennie  commanding  the  centre,  Monteath  the  left,  each 
five  hundred  strong ; Havelock,  in  the  absence  of  Broadfoot  severely 
wounded  on  March  24,  commanding  the  right  column — a company  of  the 
Thirteenth,  another  Sepoys,  and  a detachment  of  Broadfoot’s  sappers,  in 
all  three  hundred  and  fifty  bayonets.  General  Sale  was  in  command  of  the 
whole  force.  Akbar,  reported  six  thousand  strong,  was  drawn  up  in  front 
of  his  camp  about  two  miles  from  Jellalabad,  his  flank  on  the  Cabul  River. 
He  had  a post  in  ‘‘  the  patched-up  fort,”  a mile  and  a quarter  nearer,  held 
by  three  hundred  picked  men.  Havelock  gave  this  fort  the  go-by  and 
pushed  on  through  the  skirmish  fire  against  Akbar’s  main  body.  But  Sale 
ordered  Dennie  to  carry  the  fort.  Thus  delay  arose,  the  guns  had  to  be 
sent  for,  the  Thirteenth  suffered  some  loss,  and  poor  Dennie  was  killed. 
By  Sale’s  orders  Havelock  had  halted  and  he  formed  a square  against  a 
threatened  cavalry  attack,  with  a detached  flanking  party  under  cover. 


182 


ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  AND  AFRICA 


Down  came  Akbar’s  horse,  fifteen  hundred  strong  on  Havelock’s  firm  square. 
Their  chief  rode  straight  on  the  bayonets,  but  was  not  followed  home,  and 
a steady  fire  drove  the  horsemen  off  with  severe  loss.  Havelock  had  a 
narrow  escape.  When  outside  the  square  he  was  thrown  by  his  horse,  and 
was  rescued  from  Afghan  swords  just  in  the  nick  of  time.  Having  moved 
on  he  was  again  charged  with  a like  result ; Barkhonse  brought  up  his 
guns  and  Havelock  and  he  entered  the  Afghan  camp  as  Akbar  abandoned 
it.  The  other  columns  came  up  and  cooperated ; the  Afghans  were  swept 
clean  out  of  their  position,  their  cannon — four  of  which  had  been  ours — 
were  taken  and  their  whole  camp  was  burned.  Akbar,  by  7 o’clock  on  this 
April  morning,  had  been  utterly  defeated  in  the  open  field  b}^  the  troops 
whom  he  had  boasted  of  blockading.  There  was  no  more  annoyance,  and  no 
more  scarcity.  The  garrison  of  Jellalabad,  after  a siege  of  five  months,  had 
wrought  out  its  own  relief.  Pollock,  laden  with  nnneeded  supplies,  reached 
Jellalabad  a fortnight  after  Havelock’s  “ crowning  mercy,”  and  was 
played  into  camp  by  the  band  of  the  Thirteenth  to  the  tune,  “ Oh,  but  ye’ve 
been  lang  o’  coming.”  Pollock  would  have  made  Havelock  his  Persian 
interpreter,  at  Sale’s  request,  but  the  Commander-in-Chief  had  designated 
him  for  the  post  of  Deputy  Adjutant-General  of  the  infantry  division  com- 
manded by  General  McCaskill. 

It  was  not  until  August  20  that  Pollock  moved  forward  on  Crbnl. 
There  was  a halt  at  Giindamak  until  September  7,  while  the  Mammoo 
Khel  tribe  were  being  harried  relentlessly  in  retribution  for  their  cruelties 
of  January.  Next  day  the  hillmen  were  driven  from  the  Jugdulluck  pass, 
and  Pollock  cleared  the  defile  without  serious  loss.  Akbar  sent  one  of  his 
prisoners  to  negotiate  with  intent  to  stay  the  advance  on  the  capital,  but  in 
vain.  Then  he  determined  on  a final  struggle,  for  he,  too,  was  a hero  after 
his  fashion.  He  sent  his  prisoners  into  the  fastnesses  of  the  Hindoo  Koosk, 
and  gathered  his  adherents  in  and  about  the  ravine  of  the  Khoord  Cabnl 
pass,  there  to  fight  out  the  quarrel.  But  Pollock  astutely  halted  on  the 
opener  ground  of  Tezeen,  short  of  the  Khoord  Cabnl.  Akbar  thought  him 
daunted,  abandoned  his  vantage  ground,  and  moved  down  into  tlie  Tezeen 
valley.  There  the  battle  was  fought  over  the  nnburied  bodies  of  Blphin- 
stone’s  slaughtered  soldiers.  Pollock’s  men,  as  they  trod  perforce  on  their 
dead  comrades  and  saw  their  bodies  built  up  in  breastworks  covering  the 
Afghans,  were  in  a white  heat  of  fury,  and  panted  for  revenge.  The}^  took 
it.  Under  the  cavalry  sabres  a fresh  la^^er  of  dead  cumbered  the  ground 
of  the  valle}^ ; the  infiintry  swept  the  hill  face  at  the  ba37onet  point. 
Broadfoot’s  bloodthirsty  Goorkhas,  better  cragsmen  than  the  Afghan  hill- 


ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  AND  AFRICA 


183 


men  themselves,  slaughtered  them  to  the'very  mountain  tops.  The  victory 
was  complete,  and,  two  days  later,  on  September  14,  Pollock  quartered  his 
force  ill  the  desolated  cantonment  of  Cabul.  Immediately  he  despatched 
Richmond  Shakspeare,  at  the  head  of  six  hundred  horse,  in  hot  quest  after 
the  convoy  of  prisoners  ; Sale  followed  with  the  Thirteenth.  Their  bribed 
custodian  had  ceased  to  guard  them  and  they  were  already  free  and  on  their 
way  to  Cabul  when  Shakspeare  met  them.  Four  days  afterward  Sale 
greeted  his  wife  and  daughter;  and  011  the  21st  the  prisoners  were  brought 
into  the  cantonment.  Havelock  had  a nephew  among  them,  one  of  the 
Ghuznee  prisoners.  He  was  searching  for  his  relative  when  a “ tall  figure 
clad  in  an  Afghan  dress,  with  a beard  of  months,  called  out : ‘ Here  I am, 
uncle !’  ” Nott’s  army  from  Candahar  reached  Cabul  three  da^’S  after 
Pollock’s  advent,  having  experienced  some  sharp  fighting  by  the  way. 
The  Kohistanees,  living  to  the  north  of  Cabul,  had  been  very  murderous 
at  the  time  of  the  general  rising,  and  McCaskill’s  division  was  sent  to 
punish  them  by  destroying  Istalif,  their  beautiful  little  fortress-capital. 
McCaskill  appears  to  have  been  more  of  a sensible  man  than  of  a skilled 
soldier ; he  entrusted,  we  are  told,  the  entire  management  of  this  expedition 
to  Havelock,  who  describes  succinctly  and  lucidly  the  progress  and  issue  of 
the  attack:  “The  enemy’s  position  in  gardens  and  enclosures  backed  by  a 
town,  the  flat  roofs  of  which  on  the  mountain  side  were  occupied  b}^  rifle- 
men, was  strong,  and  its  defenders  numerous  and  full  of  audacit}^ ; but  the 
advance  of  one  column,  aided  by  the  manceuvres  of  another,  qiiickl}"  dis- 
lodged them.  The  ground  would  not  permit  the  use  of  artillery,  but  the 
pace  of  the  infantrymen  was  so  good  that  the  Afghans  could  not  face  them 
in  the  vineyards,  and  once  thrown  into  confusion,  could  never  rally.  Our 
troops,  indeed,  behaved  everywhere  well,  and  there  was  far  less  of  outrage 
of  every  kind,  and  above  all  to  the  women,  than  is  seen  ninety-nine  times 
out  of  a hundred  in  cases  of  towns  and  cities  stormed.” 

In  the  meantime,  in  South  Africa,  the  British  Government  found  itself, 
or  thought  itself,  compelled  to  abandon  its  original  policy  of  indifference  to 
the  doings  of  the  Boer  emigrants,  and  so  there  began  that  struggle  for  the 
possession  of  the  extra-colonial  parts  of  South  Africa  which  has  been  the 
central  stream  of  South  African  history  for  more  than  half  a centmy. 
“ The  first  collision  took  place  in  what  is  now  the  Colony  of  Natal,  a region 
then  separated  from  Cape  Coloii}^  by  a mass  of  independent  Kafir  tribes, 
and  itself  ruled  by  the  Zulu  King  Dingaan.  Hearing  of  the  fertility  of  this 
region,  which  is  indeed  one  of  the  richest  and  best  watered  parts  of  Africa, 
a large  body  of  Boer  emigrants,  who  had  been  wandering  over  the  great 


184 


ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  AND  AFRICA 


interior  plateau,  descended  into  it  into  1838,  and  after  a short  but  terrible 
struggle  with  Dingaan,  who  had  treacherously  massacred  two  parties  of 
them,  built  the  village  of  Pietermaritzburg  (now  the  capital  of  Natal),  and 
set  up  a republic  which  they  called  Natalia.  This  disquieted  the  British 
authorities  at  the  Cape,  who  did  not  wish  to  see  any  non-British  state  estab- 
lished on  the  sea  coast.  The  interior  they  did  not  care  much  about,  because 
in  the  interior  the  Boers  would  be  in  contact  with  the  natives  only.  But  an 
independent  republic  on  the  coast,  flying  its  own  flag,  was  another  affair. 
They  were,  moreover,  afraid  that  trouble  between  the  emigrants  and  the 
coast  Kafirs  might  breed  further  trouble  between  the  coast  Kafirs  and  them- 
selves. Accordingly,  they  sent  (in  1842)  a small  British  force  to  Durban 
(then  called  Port  Natal),  the  best  harbor  on  the  coast,  though  they  had  some 
years  before  withdrawn  a detachment  which  had  been  placed  there,  and  had 
not  complied  with  the  request  of  the  handful  of  English  settlers  who  lived 
there  to  recognize  them  as  a colony.  The  British  troops  were  besieged  by 
the  Natalian  Boers,  but  in  the  nick  of  time  received  reinforcements,  which 
so  completely  turned  the  scale  that  the  Boers  presently  submitted.  The 
Republic  of  Natalia  vanished,  and  many  of  the  Boer  emigrants  returned 
north  across  the  mountains,  prizing  their  independence  more  than  the  good 
pastures  of  Natal,  and  full  of  resentment  at  the  government  which  had 
stepped  in  to  deprive  them  of  the  fruit  of  their  victory  over  the  Zulu  king. 
Thus  ended  the  first  of  the  four  armed  collisions  which  have  occurred  be- 
tween the  English  and  the  Boers,  the  first  of  their  many  strivings  for  the 
possession  of  the  unappropriated  parts  of  Africa. 

“ Meanwhile,  the  interior  was  in  a state  of  confusion  and  disorder,  the 
Boers  being  too  few  in  number  to  reduce  to  submission  their  native  enemies, 
and  the  half-breed  hunting  clans  called  Griquas,  the  offspring  of  Dutch  fathers 
and  Plottentot  mothers,  who  lived  in  the  northeastern  border  of  Cape  Colony. 
The  British  Government,  after  fruitless  attempts  to  create  petty  semi-inde- 
pendent states  out  of  these  unpromising  materials,  yielded  to  the  pressure 
of  events,  and  moved  forward  the  frontier  of  its  influence  by  annexing  the 
country  between  the  Orange  River  and  the  Vaal  River,  thereby  asserting 
authority  over  such  of  the  Boer  eniigants  as  dwelt  in  this  region.  They 
named  it  the  Orange  River  Sovereignty,  and  built  a fort  in  it  at  a spot  called 
Bloemfontein.  This  took  place  in  1846.  Some  of  the  Boers,  unwilling  to 
come  again  under  British  dominion,  took  up  arms,  and  with  the  help  of 
other  Boers  beyond  the  Vaal,  overpowered  the  small  British  garrison.  A 
British  force  was  led  against  them  by  the  Governor  of  the  Cape,  a tried 
soldier  of  the  Peninsular  War,  who  defeated  them  in  an  engagement  and  re- 


ENGLAND  IN  ASIA  AND  AFRICA 


185 


established  British  authority.  But  the  troubles  showed  no  sign  of  ending. 
A large  Kafir  tribe,  the  Basutos,  who  occupied  the  inountainous  country 
south  of  the  Orange  River  Sovereignty,  and  were  formidable  both  by  their 
numbers  and  by  the  difficult  nature  of  their  country,  attacked  the  British 
force  in  the  Sovereignt}^  on  one  side,  while  the  Boers  from  beyond  the  Vaal 
threatened  it  on  another.  It  so  happened  that  Cape  Colony  was  at  the  same 
time  involved  in  a war  with  the  Kafirs  of  the  south  coast,  so  that  troops 
could  not  be  spared  for  these  more  remote  districts,  Vvdiile  there  was  not  time 
to  fetch  any  from  England,  then  far  more  distant  than  now.  Besides,  the 
government  at  home  were  getting  tired  of  the  vexations  which  their  pres- 
ence in  the  far  interior  caused  them.  They  saw  nothing  to  be  gained  b}^  the 
possession  of  wide,  pastoral  wastes  where  it  was  extremely  difficult  to  keep 
order,  difficult  to  control  the  rough  white  settlers,  difficult  to  bridle  the  rest* 
less  mass  of  Kafirs.  Accordingly  the  British  Cabinet  made  up  its  mind  to 
take  what  would  now  be  called  an  act  of  self-denying  and  perhaps  pusillan- 
imous renunciation,  but  was  then  regarded  as  an  exercise  of  obvious  com- 
mon sense.  It  resolved  to  withdraw  altogether  from  the  interior,  release  the 
emigrant  Boers  from  any  claim  it  might  still  have  to  their  allegiance,  and 
leave  them  and  the  Kafirs  to  fight  out  their  quarrels  without  further  inter- 
ferenced’ 


CHAPTER  XXI 

(FIFTH  DECADE) 

THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1 848 

\Rhmni. — The  careful  reader  of  our  previous  chapters  knows  well,  bj  this,  the  causes  leading  to  the 
Revolution  of  1848.  It  was  but  a step  from  1830.  Europe  was  eager  for  war,  and  the  match  which 
lighted  it  was  struck  in  Italy.] 

Austrian  intervention  quelled,  as  we  have  seen,  the  rebellious 
uprisings  in  Piedmont  and  Naples  in  1820-1821.  When  a similar 
uprising  occurred  in  1831,  in  Modena  and  the  Roman  states  it  was 
subdued  with  what  was  called  “ sanguinary  ferocity  ” by  the  Austrian  army. 
The  historian  can  perceive  in  these  movements  no  tendency  towards  national 
unity. 

The  accession  of  Charles  Albert  to  the  throne  of  Piedmont  (1831),  was 
really  an  answer  to  the  question  propounded  by  the  reformer,  Mazzini,  in 
an  address  to  the  King,  urging  him  to  assume  the  role  of  liberator  and 
leader  of  Italy.  Here  follows  the  account : “ The  King  of  Piedmont,  by 
yielding  in  some  degree  to  the  spirit  of  his  time,  prepared  for  Piedmont 
pre-eminence  throughout  the  country.  The  accession  of  Pope  Pius  IX,  1846, 
seemed  the  inauguration  of  a new  era  for  the  King.  A general  amnesty 
was  followed  by  wise,  liberal  measures,  which  were  adopted  also  by  Tuscany 
and  Piedmont,  in  emulation  of  Rome.  Naples  and  the  other  states  reso- 
lutely refused  every  measure  of  reform,  and  by  a simultaneous  outbreak  in 
Sicily  and  Milan  in  January,  the  great  revolution  of  1848  began  in  Italy. 
The  revolution  of  France  in  February  imparted  a strong  impulse  to  that  of 
Italy,  and  speedily  Naples,  Piedmont,  and  Rome  conceded  constitutional 
rights  to  the  popular  demands.  The  Milanese  unanimously  revolted 
against  Austrian  rule  March  17,  and,  after  five  days  of  heroic  fighting,  the 
Austrians  were  expelled  from  the  city,  and  Radetsky,  with  seventy  thou- 
sand troops,  compelled  to  retreat  from  its  walls.  On  March  29,  Charles 

Albert  entered  Lombardy,  the  avowed  champion  of  Italian  independence, 
186 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1848 


187 


and  leader  of  the  national  struggle.  All  the  sovereigns  of  the  King  con- 
tributed their  best  troops  for  the  war,  and  on  the  Roman  volunteers  setting 
out  for  Lombardy,  the  Pope  himself  in  public  pronounced  a solemn  bene- 
diction on  their  banners.  Within  a month  Pins  IX  suddenly  halted  in  his 
role  of  liberator  of  Italy,  and,  abandoning  the  national  cause,  launched 
a severe  censure  against  this  unjust  and  hurtful  war,  which  arose  by  his 
own  act,  and  had  been  consecrated  in  the  eyes  of  at  least  the  more  ignorant 
of  the  people.  The  recall  of  the  Neapolitan  troops  was  the  first  fruit  of 
the  encyclical  letter  which  may  be  considered  the  tocsin  of  the  subsequent 
fierce  reaction  throughout  all  Italy. 

It  was  France  that  gave  the  signal  which  called  the  Italians  to  revolt. 
In  1848,  when  France  once  more  cast  out  her  King,  and  the  revolutionary 
flame  burst  forth  also  in  Vienna  and  Berlin,  the  Italians  deemed  that  their 
hour  of  deliverance  had  struck.  Driven  by  an  impulse  passionate  and 
irrepressible,  all  Italy  rushed  to  arms.  The  welcome  news  called  back 
from  exile  men  who  had  scarcely  hoped  to  see  their  country  again.  From 
all  European  cities  they  came  where  banished  men  were  allowed  a home. 
Mazzini  hastened  from  London ; Garibaldi  sailed  from  Monte  Video,  to 
attempt,  not  yet  successfully,  the  marvelous  work  of  deliverance  which 
was  reserved  for  his  later  years.  Gray-haired  soldiers,  who  had  spent  their 
blighted  years  in  poverty  and  obscure  toil,  stood  once  more  on  Italian 
ground,  side  by  side  with  the  eager  students  of  Pisa,  the  resolute  burghers 
of  Genoa  and  Leghorn,  the  Romans  not  unworthy  to  bear  a name  so  re- 
nowned. All  were  full  of  hope  that  their  efforts  would  be  crowned  with  the 
glory  of  a rescued  Italy.  All  offered  their  lives  gladly  in  her  cause.  The 
grand  aim  of  this  national  uprising  was  to  expel  the  Austrians,  and  there- 
after to  assert  the  national  life  and  unity,  under  the  guidance  of  any  Italian 
prince  who  might  worthily  assume  the  sacred  task.  The  Pope,  as  we  have 
seen,  quickly  repenting  his  short-lived  weakness,  sought  the  congenial  refuge 
of  despotic  alliance.  He  had  permitted  a body  of  Roman  volunteers  to  join 
the  patriot  ranks.  He  now  withdrew  his  permission,  and  commanded  his 
subjects  to  detach  themselves  from  an  enterprise  which  no  longer  enjoyed 
the  favor  of  Heaven.  He  was  the  minister  of  a God  of  peace ; he  was  the 
impartial  father  of  every  member  of  the  Christian  family  ; he  could  give  no 
sanction  to  the  shedding  of  Christian  blood.  The  rage  of  the  disappointed 
people  knew  no  bounds.  Papal  influence  over  the  Italians  was  henceforth 
a comparatively  feeble  thing.  The  sole  remaining  hope  of  the  patriots  was 
Charles  Albert,  King  of  Sardinia,  a prince  well  disposed  to  the  popular 
cause,  but  unwise  and  infirm  of  purpose,  unreliable  as  a statesman,  fatally 


188 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1848 


incompetent  as  a soldier.  The  popular  impulse,  which  now  surged  around 
his  throne,  drove  him,  single-handed,  into  an  invasion  of  Lombardy.  Some 
successes  in  the  opening  of  the  war  shed  a momentary  gleam  of  hope  over 
the  desperate  enterprise.  But  the  incapable  leadership  of  the  king  brought 
swift  ruin  upon  the  patriot  forces.  After  much  waste  of  life  in  battle  and 
by  hardships  needlessly  imposed  on  the  troops,  the  defeat  of  Novaro  closed 
the  war,  and  the  humiliated  king  resigned  to  his  son  the  crown  whose  dignity 
he  had  failed  to  uphold.  Meanwhile  the  subjects  of  his  holiness  the  Pope, 
as  their  contribution  to  the  cause  of  Italian  unity,  had  relieved  the  pontiff 
of  his  temporal  sovereignty  and  formed  themselves  into  a republic.  The 
Pope  sought  refuge  in  Gaeta,  where  his  brother  in  adversity,  the  expelled 
King  of  Naples,  extended  to  him  a sympathetic  welcome.  From  this  secure 
retirement  his  holiness  issued  unregarded  protests  against  the  profane  vio- 
lence which  had  wrenched  the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter  from  the  hand  of  St. 
Peter’s  successor.  But  a powerful  arm  of  flesh  was  near  to  give  unexpected 
emphasis  to  the  ineffectual  spiritual  menaces  of  the  Pope.  Louis  Napoleon 
had  become  President  of  the  French  Republic.  Personally,  he  cared  nothing 
for  religion  or  any  of  its  ministers.  But  if  France  dela3^ed  her  intervention, 
Austria  would  hasten  to  snatch  the  precious  opportunity.  The  support  of 
the  priesthood  was  of  high  political  importance,  and  the  unbelieving  Presi- 
dent did  not  hesitate  to  become  suddenly  one  of  the  most  devout  sons  of 
the  Church.  He  sent  General  Oudinot  with  a force  which,  in  the  end, 
numbered  forty-five  thousand  French  soldiers  to  restore  the  Pope. 

It  was  a delicate  task  for  a people  who  had  lately  expelled  their  king, 
and  set  up  a republic,  to  announce  to  the  world  that  they  were  about  forcibly 
to  reimpose  upon  their  neighbors  an  overthrown  despotism.  But  the  new 
President  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  He  informed  the  Romans  that  his 
troops  were  sent  in  the  interests  of  “ peace,  order,  conciliation,  and  true 
liberty,”  and  he  expected  that  they  would  receive  with  eagerness  an  army 
which  came  “ to  accomplish  so  kindly  and  disinterested  a mission.”  The 
Romans,  led  by  General  Garibaldi,  prepared  themselves  to  defend  like  free 
men  the  libert}^  which  they  had  asserted.  During  the  months  of  May  and 
June  they  held  the  moldering  walls  of  the  ancient  city  against  all  the 
strength  of  France.  But  at  length  the  heroic  defence  was  crushed,  and  the 
French  army  enjo\^ed  a shameful  triumph.  One  of  the  ke3^s  of  the  city 
gates  was  sent  off  in  haste  to  the  Pope.  His  holiness  publicly  blessed  his 
deliverers,  and  returned  to  Rome  to  resume  his  intermitted  despotism. 

Order  once  reigned  in  Italy.  A French  army  held  Rome,  and  main- 
tained the  Pope’s  unstable  throne.  The  Austrian  troops  swept  over  northern 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  184.8 


189 


Italy,  and  tramped  out  tlie  embers  of  patriot  resistance.  Tlie  leaders  of  the 
rising  betook  themselves  once  more  to  their  exile,  or  expiated  their  offense 
on  the  scaffold  or  in  the  yet  more  terrible  dungeon.  All  seemed  lost.  Italy 
had  measured  her  strength  with  that  of  her  oppressors,  and  had  been  beaten 
to  the  ground.  But  even  then,  when  all  hope  seemed  gone,  the  man  who 
was  to  lead  Italy  to  an  early  and  splendid  triumph  stood  ready  to  begin  his 
work.  The  Count  Camillo  di  Cavour  was  then  a man  of  thirty-eight.  He 
had  inherited  a competent  fortune,  and  was  now  a member  of  the  Sardinian 
Parliament,  of  growing  political  reputation.  His  figure  was  not  of  heroic 
mold,  for  he  was  short  and  unduly  inclined  to  corpulence  ; but  it  was 
crowned  by  a massive  head,  and  a face  which  expressed  intellectual  power 
and  strength  of  will,  marvelously  sweetened  by  kindly  good-humor.  He 
had  traveled  much,  and  had  studied  carefully  the  institutions  of  self-gov- 
erning countries.  He  returned  with  a deep  conviction  that  the  national 
welfare  was  impossible  without  liberty,  constitutional  government,  and 
freedom  of  trade.  His  love  for  his  country  was  an  absorbing  passion.  To 
gain  unity  and  freedom  for  Italy  was  the  object  of  his  life.  It  had  been  the 
dream  of  his  youth  that  he  would  one  day  be  the  Minister  of  emancipated 
Italy.  In  1850  he  was  received  into  the  Sardinian  Cabinet.  Henceforth,  to 
the  day  of  his  death,  the  history  of  Cavour  is  the  history  of  Italy.  Provi- 
dence had  given  to  this  long-afHicted  land  a man  with  wisdom  to  discern  her 
needs,  and  strength  to  conduct  her  victoriously  through  the  unparalleled 
difficulties  by  which  she  was  beset.  After  the  disasters  of  1848,  Cavour 
was  persuaded  that  foreign  help  was  necessary  to  the  deliverance  of  Italy. 
Sardinia  ruled  a population  of  only  four  millions,  while  twenty  millions 
owned  the  sway  of  Austria,  Naples,  the  Pope,  and  the  dukes.  The  brave 
little  kingdom,  which  alone  upheld  liberty  in  the  peninsula,  was  surrounded 
by  despotic  forces  of  overwhelming  strength.  It  became  evident  that  this 
was  a political  condition  which  could  not  endure.  Italy  could  not  exist 
partly  free  and  partly  enslaved.  Liberty  must  drive  out  the  despotisms,  or 
be  crushed  by  them.  Cavour  believed  that  it  was  possible  to  liberate  and 
unite  the  Italian  people,  and  he  lived  to  justify  his  confidence  by  magnificent 
success. 

Let  us  get  an  intimate  glimpse  of  this  period  of  history,  summarized 
from  the  narrative  b}^  Countess  Cesaresco  : Mazzini,  whose  judgment  was 
obscured  by  his  attribution  of  the  Italian  policy  of  France  to  Louii 
Napoleon  alone,  hoped  for  a revolution  in  Paris  ; but  Ledru  Rollin’s  attempt 
at  agitation  completely  failed,  and  the  country  applauded  its  Government 
now  that  the  mask  was  thrown  away.  The  reasons  for  revolutions  in  Paris 


190 


THE  REVOLUTION  OE  1848 


have  always  been  the  same ; they  have  to  do  with  something  else  than  the 
garroting  of  sister  republics.  Ondinot  tightened  his  cordon ; on  the  12th 
of  June  he  invited  the  city  to  capitulate.  The  answer  was  a refusal  ; so, 
with  the  aid  of  his  excellent  artillery,  he  crept  on  his  passage,  contested  at 
each  step,  but  not  arrested,  until  on  the  27th  the  Villa  Savorelli,  Garibaldi’s 
headquarters,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  on  the  night  of  the 
29th  the  French  w^ere  within  the  city  walls.  St.  Peter’s  day  is  the  great 
feast  of  Rome,  and  this  time,  as  usual,  the  cupola  of  St.  Peter’s  was  illumi- 
nated, the  Italian  flag  flying  from  the  highest  point.  The  thunderstorm 
which  proverbially  accompanies  the  feast  raged  during  the  night  ; the 
French  shells  flew  in  all  directions  ; the  flght  raged  fiercer  than  the  storm  ; 
Medici  held  out  among  the  crumbling  walls  of  the  Vascello,  which  had  been 
bombarded  for  a week  ; the  heroic  Manara  fell  fighting  at  Villa  Spada ; 
Garibaldi,  descending  into  the  melee,  dealt  blows  right  and  left ; he  seemed 
possessed  by  some  supernatural  power.  Those  around  him  say  that  it  is 
impossible  that  he  would  have  much  longer  escaped  death,  but  suddenly  a 
message  came  summoning  him  to  the  Assembly — it  saved  his  life.  When 
he  appeared  at  the  door  of  the  Chamber,  the  deputies  rose  and  burst  into 
wild  applause.  He  seemed  puzzled,  but,  looking  down  upon  himself,  he 
read  the  explanation  ; he  was  covered  with  blood,  his  clothing  was  honey- 
combed by  balls  and  bayonet  thrusts,  his  sabre  was  so  bent  with  striking 
that  it  would  not  go  more  than  half  into  its  sheath.  What  the  Assembly 
wanted  to  know  was  whether  the  defence  could  be  prolonged ; Garibaldi  had 
only  to  say  that  it  could  not.  They  voted,  therefore,  the  following  decree  : 

In  the  name  of  God  and  of  the  People  : The  Roman  Constituent  Assembly 
discontinues  a defence  which  has  become  impossible,  and  remains  at  its  post.” 
At  its  post  it  remained  till  the  French  soldiers  invaded  the  Capitol,  where  it 
sat,  when,  yielding  to  brute  force,  the  deputies  dispersed.  Mazzini,  who 
would  have  resisted  still,  when  all  resistance  was  impossible,  wandered  openly 
about  the  city  like  a man  in  a dream. 

He  felt  as  though  he  were  looking  on  at  the  funeral  of  his  best-beloved. 
How  it  was  that  he  was  not  killed  or  arrested  is  a mystery.  At  the  end  of 
a week  his  friends  induced  him  to  leave  Rome  with  an  English  passport. 
On  the  2d  of  July,  before  the  French  made  their  official  entry.  Garibaldi 
galled  his  soldiers  together  in  the  square  of  the  Vatican,  and  told  them  that 
he  was  going  to  seek  some  field  where  the  foreigner  could  still  be  fought. 
Who  would  might  follow  him.  “ I cannot  offer  yon  honors  or  pay  ; I offer 
you  hunger,  thirst,  forced  marches,  battles,  death.”  Three  thousand  fol- 
lowed him.  Beside  her  husband  rode  Anita ; not  even  for  the  sake  of  the 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1S48 


191 


child  soon  to  come  would  she  stay  behind  in  safety.  Ugo  Bassi  was  there  ; 
Aughiar  was  dead  ; Manieli  was  dying  in  a hospital ; but  there  was  “ the 
partisan  or  brigand  Forbes,”  as  he  was  described  in  a letter  of  the  iVustrian 
General  dh\spre  to  the  French  General  Oudinot,  with  a good  handful  of 
Garibaldi’s  best  surviving  officers.  Ciceruacchio  came  with  his  two  sons, 
and  offered  himself  as  guide.  No  one  knew  what  the  plan  was,  or  if  there 
was  one.  Like  knights  of  old  in  search  of  adventures,  they  set  out  in 
search  of  their  country’s  foes.  It  was  the  last  desperate  venture  of  men 
who  did  not  know  how  to  yield.  After  wandering  hither  and  thither,  and 
suffering  severe  hardships,  the  column  reached  the  republic  of  San  Marino. 
The  brave  hospitality  of  that  Rock  of  Freedom  prevented  Garibaldi  from 
falling  into  the  clutches  of  the  Austrians,  who  surrounded  the  republic. 
He  treated  with  the  Regent  for  the  immunity  of  his  followers,  who  had  laid 
down  their  arms  ; and,  in  the  night,  he  himself  escaped  with  Anita,  Ugo 
Bassi,  Forbes,  Ciceruacchio,  and  a few  others.  They  hoped  to  take  their 
swords  to  Venice,  but  a storm  arose,  and  the  boats  on  which  they  embarked 
were  driven  out  of  their  course.  Some  of  them  were  stranded  on  the  shore 
which  bounds  the  pine  forest  of  Ravenna,  and  there,  hope  being  indeed 
gone,  the  Chief  separated  from  his  companions. 

Of  these,  Ugo  Bassi  and  an  officer  named  Livoraghi  were  soon  cap- 
tured by  the  Austrians,  who  conveyed  them  to  Bologna,  where  they  were 
shot.  Ciceruacchio  and  his  sons  were  taken  in  another  place,  and  shot  as 
soon  as  taken.  The  boat  which  contained  Colonel  Forbes  was  caught  at 
sea  by  an  Austrian  cruiser;  he  was  kept  in  Austrian  prisons  for  two 
months,  and  was  constantly  reminded  he  would  be  either  shot  or  hanged, 
but  the  English  Government  succeeded  in  getting  him  liberated,  and  he 
lived  to  take  part  in  more  fortunate  fights  under  Garibaldi’s  standard. 
Meanwhile,  Anita  was  dying  in  a peasant’s  cottage  to  which  Garibaldi 
carried  her  when  the  strong  will  and  dauntless  heart  could  no  longer  stand 
in  place  of  the  strength  that  was  finished.  This  was  the  4th  of  August. 
Scarcely  had  she  breathed  her  last  breath  when  Garibaldi,  broken  down 
with  grief  as  he  was,  had  to  fly  from  the  spot.  The  Austrians  were  hunting 
for  him  in  all  directions.  All  the  Roman  fugitives  were  proclaimed  outlaws, 
and  the  population  was  forbidden  to  give  them  even  bread  or  water.  Never- 
theless— aid  in  secret  by  peasants,  priests,  and  all  whose  help  he  was  obliged 
to  seek — Garibaldi  made  good  his  flight  from  the  Adriatic  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean, the  whole  route  being  overrun  by  Austrians.  When  once  the 
western  coast  was  reached,  he  was  able,  partly  by  sea  and  partly  by  land, 
to  reach  the  Piedmontese  territory,  where  his  life  was  safe.  Not  even  there. 


192 


THE  REVOLUTION  OE  184.8 


however,  could  he  rest ; he  was  told,  politely  but  firmly,  that  his  presence 
was  embarrassing,  and  for  the  second  time  he  left  Europe — first  for  Tunis 
and  then  for  the  United  States. 

While  the  French  besieged  Rome  the  Austrians  had  not  been  idle. 
They  took  Bologna  in  May,  after  eight  days’  resistance,  and  in  June,  after 
twenty  days’  attack  by  sea  and  land,  Ancona  fell  into  their  hands.  In  these 
towns  they  pursued  means  of  “ pacification  ” resembling  those  employed  at 
Brescia.  All  who  possessed  what,  by  a fiction,  could  be  called  arms  were 
summarily  slaughtered.  At  Ancona,  a woman  of  bad  character  hid  a 
rusty  nail  in  the  bed  of  her  husband,  whom  she  wished  to  get  rid  of;  she 
then  denounced  him  to  tlie  military  tribunal,  and  two  hours  later  an  Eng- 
lish famil}^,  whose  house  was  near  the  barracks,  heard  the  ring  of  the  vol- 
ley of  musketry  which  dispatched  him.  Austria  had  also  occupied  the 
Grand  Duchy  of  Tuscany,  and  when,  in  July,  Leopold  II  returned  to  his 
State,  which  had  restored  him  by  general  consent  and  without  an}'  foreign 
intervention,  he  entered  Florence  between  two  files  of  Austrian  soldiery,  in 
violation  of  the  article  of  the  statute  to  which  he  had  sworn,  which  stipu- 
lated that  no  foreign,  occupation  should  be  invited  or  tolerated.  The 
Grand  Duke  wrote  to  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  from  Gaeta,  humbly  begging 
the  loan  of  his  arms.  Francis  Joseph  replied,  with  supreme  contempt,  that 
it  would  have  been  a better  thing  if  Leopold  had  never  forgotten  to  whose 
family  he  belonged  ; but  he  granted  the  prayer.  Such  was  the  way  in  which 
the  House  of  Hapsburg-Lorraine,  that  had  done  much  in  Tuscany  to  win 
respect,  if  not  love,  destroyed  all  its  rights  to  the  good-will  of  the  Tuscan 
people,  and  removed  what  might  have  been  a serious  obstacle  to  Italian  unity. 

Austria,  unable  alone  to  cope  with  Hungary,  committed  the  immeasur- 
able blunder  of  calling  in  the  two  hundred  thousand  Russians  who  made  con- 
quest certain,  but  the  price  of  whose  aid  she  may  still  have  to  pay.  Venice, 
and  Venice  only,  continued  to  defy  her  power.  Since  Novara,  the  first  result 
of  which  was  the  withdrawal  of  the  Sardinian  Commissioners,  who  had 
taken  over  the  Government  after  the  Fusion,  Venice  had  been  ruled  by 
Manin  on  the  terms  which  he  himself  proposed  : Are  you  ready,”  he  asked 
the  Venetian  Assembly,  ‘‘  to  invest  the  Government  with  unlimited  power, 
in  order  to  direct  the  defence  and  maintain  order?”  He  warned  them  that 
he  should  be  obliged  to  impose  upon  them  enormous  sacrifices,  but  they 
replied  by  voting  the  order  of  the  day  : Venice  resists  the  Austrians  at 
all  costs  ; to  this  end  the  President  Manin  is  invested  with  plenary  powders.” 
All  then  raised  their  right  hand,  and  swore  to  defend  the  city  to  the  last 
extremity.  They  kept  their  word. 


THE  REVOLU'IION  OF  1S4S 


193 


It  is  liard  to  say  wliicli  was  the  more  admirable  : Idardids  fidelity  to  his 
trust,  or  the  people’s  fidelity  to  him.  To  keep  up  tiie  spirits,  to  ihaiiilaiii  the 
decorum  of  a besieged  city  even  for  a few  weeks  or  a few  moiitiis  is  a task 
not  without  difficulty ; but  when  the  months  run  into  a second  year,  when 
the  real  pinch  of  privations  has  been  felt  by  every  one,  not  as  a sudden 
twinge,  but  as  a long-drawn-out  pain  ; when  the  bare  necessities  of  life  fail, 
and  a horrible  disease,  cholera,  enters  as  auxiliary  under  the  enemy’s  black- 
and-yellow,  death-and-pestilence  flag — then,  indeed,  the  task  becomes  one 
which  only  a born  leader  of  men  could  perform. 

The  financial  administration  of  the  republic  was  a model  of  order  and 
econom}^  Generous  voluntary  assistance  was  afforded  by  all  classes,  from 
the  wealthy  patrician  and  the  Jewish  merchant  to  the  poorest  gondolier. 
Mazzini  once  said,  bitterly,  that  it  was  easier  to  get  his  countrymen  to  give 
their  blood  than  their  money  ; here  they  gave  both.  The  capable  manner 
in  which  Manin  conducted  the  foreign  policy  of  the  republic  is  also  a point 
that  deserves  mention,  as  it  won  the  esteem  even  of  statesmen  of  the  old 
school,  though  it  was  powerless  to  obtain  their  help.  The  time  was  gone 
when  France  was  disposed  to  do  anything  for  Venice;  no  one,  except 
the  Archbishop  of  Paris,  who  was  afterward  to  die  by  the  hand  of  an 
assassin,  said  a word  for  her.  In  the  past  year.  Lord  Palmerston,  though 
he  tried  to  localize  the  war  and  to  prevent  the  co-operation  of  the  south, 
abounded  in  good  advice  to  Austria.  He  repeated  until  he  was  tired  of 
repeating,  that  she  would  do  well  to  retire  from  her  Italian  possessions  of 
her  own  accord.  If  France  did  not  come  now,  he  said,  they  would  come 
some  day,  and  then  her  friends  and  allies  would  give  her  scanty  support. 
It  was  thus  that,  in  reply  to  Manin’s  appeal  to  Lord  Palmerston,  he  only 
received  the  cold  comfort  of  the  recommendation  that  Venice  should  come 
to  terms  with  her  enemy. 

The  Venetian  army  of  twenty  thousand  men  was  reduced  by  casualties 
and  sickness  to  eighteen  thousand  or  less.  It  always  did  its  duty.  The 
defence  of  Fort  Malghera,  the  great  fort  which  commanded  the  road  to 
Padua  and  the  bridge  of  the  Venice  railway,  would  have  done  credit  to  the 
most  experienced  troops  in  the  world.  The  garrison  numbered  twent3^-five 
hundred;  the  besiegers,  under  Haynau,  thirty  thousand.  Radetsky,  with 
three  archdukes,  came  to  the  siege,  but,  tired  with  waiting,  they  went  awa}^ 
before  it  was  ended.  The  bombardment  began  on  the  4th  of  May  ; in  the 
three  days  and  nights  ending  with  the  25th  over  sixty  thousand  projectiles 
fell  on  the  fort.  During  the  night  of  the  25th  the  Commandant,  Ulloa,  b}^ 
order  of  Government,  quietly  evacuated  the  place,  and  withdrew  his  troops  ; 

13 


194 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1848 


only  the  next  morning  the  Austrians  found  out  that  Malghera  was  aban- 
doned, and  proceeded  to  take  possession  of  the  heap  of  ruins  which  was  all 
that  remained. 

Peaceful  as  his  reign  had  been,  the  government  of  Louis  Philippe  had 
been  enormously  expensive.  The  army,  by  which  he  supported  his  throne 
and  maintained  the  national  dignit}^,  numbered  six  hundred  and  forty 
thousand  men.  Over  twenty  million  sterling  was  expended  on  public 
works.  The  total  expenditure  of  the  country  had  swelled  from  the  moderate 
twent}^  millions  of  1829  the  enormous  aggregate  of  sixt}^  millions.  The 
revenue  was  not  sufficient  for  these  outlays,  and  there  was  for  years  a deficit 
larger  than  that  which  hastened  the  first  revolution.  A heavier  rate  of 
taxation  was  deemed  impracticable,  but  it  was  resolved  to  order  a new  valua- 
tion, whereby  the  area  on  which  taxation  was  levied  might  be  enlarged. 
This  resolution  encountered  grave  opposition,  and  produced  results  perma- 
nently injurious.  A multitude  of  local  authorities  openly  counseled  resist- 
ance, and  the  valuation  was  not  completed  without  rioting  and  copious 
bloodshed.  The  population  of  France  was  then  thirty-four  millions,  and  the 
privilege  of  the  political  franchise  was  vested  exclusively  in  those  who  paid 
in  direct  taxes  a sum  not  less  than  eight  pounds.  This  class  numbered 
little  more  than  two  hundred  thousand.  It  was  a class  with  interests  which 
were  held  to  be  antagonistic  to  those  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  and 
was  not,  therefore,  in  any  sense  representative  of  those  who  were  excluded 
from  political  influence.  The  Chamber  elected  by  this  inconsiderable  body 
did  not  enjoy  the  confidence  of  the  people.  Nor,  in  truth,  was  it  deserving 
of  this  confidence  by  its  character  more  than  by  its  origin.  A large  pro- 
portion of  its  members  were  needy  adventurers,  who  made  their  way  into 
the  Chamber  with  no  higher  aim  than  that  of  selling  their  support  to  the 
Government  for  lucrative  places  to  themselves  and  their  friends.  Nor  were 
such  hopes  often  disappointed.  The  Government  had  one  hundred  and 
thirty  thousand  places  at  its  disposal,  and  the  use  which  was  made  of  these 
during  the  eighteen  3^ears  of  Louis  Philippe’s  reign  was  productive  of  cor- 
ruption more  widespread  and  shameless  than  France  had  known  since  the 
first  revolution.  In  the  scarcel}^  exaggerated  language  used  b^^  M.  de  La- 
martine, the  Government  had  “ succeeded  in  making  a nation  of  citizens  a 
vile  band  of  beggars.” 

Louis  Pliilippe  had  wisely  set  a high  value  on  the  maintenance  of 
cordial  relations  with  England.  During  many  3^ears  he  clung  so  tenaciously 
to  the  English  alliance  as  to  bring  upon  him  at  home  the  charge  of  undig- 
nified subserviency.  The  Queen  of  England  gratified  him  b3^  a visit,  which 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1848 


195 


lie  returned  a few  montlis  after.  He  did  not  conceal  that  he  was  pleased  to 
have  the  world  made  aware  that  personal  regard  was  added  to  political  alli- 
ance. During  these  visits  there  was  much  conversation  regarding  a St^anish 
matter  which  was  then  of  some  interest.  The  Spanish  Government  was 
looking  around  to  find  suitable  husbands  for  their  young  queen  and  her 
sister.  The  hands  of  the  princesses  were  offered  to  two  sons  of  Louis 
Philippe.  But,  however  anxious  the  king  may  have  been  to  make  provision 
for  his  children,  he  was  aware  that  the  traditional  policy  of  England  looked 
with  disfavor  upon  a close  alliance  between  the  crowns  of  France  and  Spain. 
The  king  would  not  offend  England.  He  declined  the  hand  of  the  Spanish 
queen,  but  accepted  that  of  her  sister  for  his  fourth  son,  the  Due  de  Mont- 
pensier.  Queen  Victoria  and  her  Minister  approved  of  that  marriage  on  the 
condition  voluntaril}^  offered  by  King  Louis,  that  it  should  not  take  place 
until  the  Spanish  queen  was  married  and  had  children.  But  in  a few  years 
the  king  violated  his  pledge,  and  pressed  upon  Spain  an  arrangement  under 
which  the  two  marriages  were  celebrated  together.  Looking  back  upon  this 
transaction,  we  readily  perceive  that  the  views  entertained  regarding  its 
political  significance  were  altogether  mistaken,  and  that  the  order  in  which 
the  Spanish  ladies  were  married,  and  the  choice  which  was  made  of  husbands 
for  them,  were  questions  of  importance  only  to  the  persons  immediately 
concerned.  But  thirty  years  ago  the  decay  of  despotism  had  little  more 
than  begun,  and  the  ideas  of  men  were  still  molded  upon  the  traditions  of 
personal  government.  A marriage  union  between  the  royal  families  of 
France  and  Spain  still  seemed  to  involve  a junction  of  fleets  for  an  attack 
upon  England. 

To  Louis  Philippe  himself  the  transaction  was  calamitous.  He  had 
broken  his  kingly  word,  and  he  stood  before  Europe  and  his  own  people  a 
dishonored  man.  The  support  which  he  had  hitherto  drawn  from  his  cor- 
diality with  England  was  lost  to  him  forever.  The  English  newspapers 
condemned  in  unmeasured  terms  the  royal  duplicity,  and  their  denuncia- 
tions were  eagerly  reproduced  by  the  Liberal  journals  of  Paris.  Queen 
Victoria,  it  was  believed,  had  even  written  with  her  own  hand  a letter  of 
courtly  but  firm  rebuke.  To  the  cause  which  made  Louis  Philippe  un- 
popular at  home  there  was  now  added  the  humiliating  circumstance  that 
he  had  incurred  the  contempt  of  Europe.  Circumstances  made  it  eas}^  for 
the  opposition  to  enhance  the  general  discontent.  Man^^  evidences  of 
shameless  corruption  were  at  this  time  brought  to  light.  A Cabinet  Minister 
was  found  guilty  of  accepting  bribes  ; the  Ministry  was  accused  by  a news- 
paper editor  of  having  sold  peerages,  and  of  having  been  bribed  to  grant 


196 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  184.8 


license  for  a theatre;  an  arsenal  was  burned  down  to  conceal,  it  was  be- 
lieved, the  delinquencies  of  certain  officials ; the  provisions  supplied  to  the 
navy  were  found  to  be  adulterated  to  an  enormous  extent.  “ Public  morals,” 
said  M.  de  Tocqueville,  “ are  degraded,  and  private  morals  have  come  too 
closely  to  resemble  them.”  The  crops  failed  in  1845  1846,  and  prices 

rose  to  a famine  point.  So  gravely  did  public  tranquillity  seem  to  be  endan- 
gered that  the  municipality  of  Paris  borrowed  a million  sterling,  and  ex- 
pended it  in  artificially  cheapening  the  price  of  bread.  The  revenue  fell 
off  so  seriously  that  the  last  budget  of  Louis  Philippe’s  reign  showed  a 
deficit  of  twelve  million  sterling. 

The  enemies  of  the  Government  mustered  their  forces  for  a supreme 
effort.  When  the  Chambers  met,  a debate  took  place  which  stretched  over 
twent}^  days,  and  in  which  the  fiery  rhetoric  of  the  opposition  charged  home 
upon  the  king  and  his  Ministers  all  the  manifold  evils  afflicting  the  state. 
The  demand  for  parliamentary  reform  became  constantly  more  urgent;  but 
M.  Guizot  heeded  it  not.  The  reformers  took  up  again  their  work  of  agita- 
tion. They  announced  a great  procession  and  reform  banquet.  The  police, 
somewhat  hesitatingly,  interdicted  the  demonstration,  and  its  promoters 
resolved  to  submit ; but  the  people,  insufficiently  informed  of  these  move- 
ments, gathered  for  the  procession  in  the  early  morning.  All  that  day  the 
streets  were  thronged,  and  the  excitement  of  the  people  increased,  from  hour 
to  hour;  but  few  soldiers  were  seen,  and  consequently  no  conflict  occurred. 
Next  morning  the  stragetic  points  of  the  city  were  garrisoned  by  a strong 
force  of  soldiers  and  National  Guard,  and  the  people  saw  that  the  govern- 
ment feared  them.  Business  was  suspended,  and  the  constantly  rising  agi- 
tation foretold  irrepressible  tumults.  The  men  of  the  faubourgs  appeared 
once  more.  Towards  evening  a few  barricades  were  thrown  up,  and  a few 
gunsmiths’  shops  were  plundered.  Worst  of  all,  the  National  Guard 
appeared  to  sympathize  with  the  people.  Terror-stricken  by  these  fearful 
indications,  the  king  and  his  ministers  meet  for  counsel  at  the  Tuileries. 

To  appease  the  angry  mob  no  measure  seemed  so  hopeful  as  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  ministry.  Guizot  resigned.  Theirs  and  Odillou  Barrot,  chief  of 
the  Liberal  party,  were  received  into  the  cabinet.  Marshal  Bugeaud  was 
appointed  to  command  the  troops.  But  before  the  day  closed  a disaster  had 
occurred  which  made  all  concession  vain.  Before  one  of  the  public  offices 
there  was  stationed  a battalion  of  infantry,  around  which  there  surged  an 
excited  crowd.  A shot  came  from  the  crowd,  and  was  promptly  responded 
to  by  a volley  which  killed  or  wounded  fifty  persons.  The  bodies  of  the 
victims  were  placed  on  wagons  and  drawn  along  the  streets,  that  the  fury 


GREAT  GERMAN  SOLDIER.S. 

Field  Marshal  Blilcher  (Marshal  “Vorwiirts”)  was  Field  Marshal  von  Moltke  was  born  in  l<snO,  and  died 

born  in  1742,  and  died  in  1817.  in  1891. 

Crown  Prince  Frederick,  afterward  Frederick  III,  Gen.  von  Boon  was  l>orn  in  1808,  and  died  in  1H79. 

born  in  1881  : died  in  1888.  Gen.  von  Bittenfeld  was  born  in  179C),  and  died  in  1884. 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  184S 


197 


of  the  people  might  be  excited  to  the  highest  pitch.  During  that  sleepless 
night  Marshal  Bugeaud,  skilfully  directing  the  forces  which  he  com- 
manded, had  taken  the  barricades  and  effectively  checked  the  rioters.  But 
in  early  morning  the  new  ministers  ordered  him  to  desist  and  withdraw  his 
troops.  They  deemed  it  useless  to  resist.  Concession  was,  in  their  view, 
the  only  avenue  to  tranquillity.  The  soldiers  retired  ; the  crowds  pressed 
on  to  the  Tuileries.  The  king  had  breakfasted  and  was  now  in  his  cabinet, 
surrounded  by  his  family  and  great  officers,  waiting  the  course  of  events 
which  he  had  no  longer  aii}^  power  to  direct.  From  afar  the  shouts  of  the  ap- 
proaching multitude  were  borne  to  the  royal  ears.  The  king  took  up  his  pen 
to  write  the  names  of  a ministry  still  more  radical  than  that  which  he  had 
appointed  a few  hours  before.  Suddenly  there  entered  the  royal  chamber 
File  de  Girardin,  editor  of  a Paris  newspaper,  who,  in  abrupt  and  uncourtly 
terms,  informed  the  helpless  monarch  that  his  immediate  abdication  was 
necessary.  The  king  hesitated,  but  the  urgency  of  his  advisers  and  the 
sounds  of  strife,  which  waxed  even  louder,  overcame  his  reluctance,  and  he 
put  his  name  to  an  abdication  in  favor  of  his  grandson.  The  insurgents 
were  now  at  the  palace  gates,  and  the  personal  safety  of  the  dethroned 
monarch  required  to  be  secured  without  further  delay.  Along  with  the 
ladies  of  his  family,  the  king  left  the  Tuileries  and  reached  a cab-stand, 
where,  happily,  two  vehicles  stood  waiting  to  be  hired.  Availing  themselves 
of  the  only  means  of  safety  left  them,  the  royal  family  drove  away  from 
Paris.  A week  later  they  reached  the  coast  and  embarked  for  England,  the 
home  of  so  many  expelled  French  sovereigns,  their  majesties  traveling 
under  the  lowly  but  well-chosen  incognito  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith. 

The  sudden  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution  in  Paris,  the  flight  of  Eouis 
Philippe  and  his  family,  and  the  proclamation  of  the  Republic,  acted  in 
Germany  like  a spark  dropped  from  powder.  All  the  disappointments  of 
thirty  years,  the  smouldering  impatience  and  sense  of  outrage,  the  powerful 
aspiration  for  political  freedom  among  the  people,  broke  out  in  sudden 
flame.  There  was  instantly  an  outcry  for  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the 
press,  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  a constitutional  form  of  government  in 
every  state.  Baden,  where  Struve  and  Hecker  were  already  prominent  as 
leaders  of  the  opposition,  took  the  lead;  then,  on  the  13th  of  March  the 
people  of  Vienna  rose,  and  after  a blood}^  flght  with  the  troops  compelled 
Meternich  to  give  up  his  office  as  Minister,  and  seek  safety  in  exile.  In 
Berlin,  Frederick  William  IV  3delded  to  the  pressure  on  the  i8th  of 
March,  but,  either  by  accident  or  rashness,  a fight  was  brought  on  between 
the  soldiers  and  the  people,  and  a number  of  the  latter  were  slain.  Their 


198 


THE  REVOLUTION  OE  1848 


bodies,  lifted  on  planks,  with  all  their  bloody  wounds  exposed,  were  carried 
before  the  royal  palace  and  the  king  was  compelled  to  come  to  the  window 
and  look  upon  them.  All  the  demands  of  the  revolutionary  partly  were 
thereupon  instantly  granted.  The  next  day  Frederick  William  rode  through 
the  streets,  preceded  by  the  ancient  Imperial  banner  of  black,  red,  and  gold, 
swore  to  grant  the  rights  which  were  demanded,  and,  with  the  concurrence 
of  the  other  princes,  to  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a movement  for  German 
unity.  A proclamation  was  published  which  closed  with  the  words  : “From 
this  day  forward  Prussia  becomes  merged  in  Germany.”  The  soldiers  were 
removed  froiu  Berlin,  and  the  popular  excitement  gradually  subsided. 
Before  these  outbreaks  occurred,  the  Diet  at  Frankfort  had  caught  the 
alarm,  and  hastened  to  take  a step  which  seemed  to  yield  something  to  the 
general  demand.  On  the  ist  of  March  it  invited  the  separate  states  to 
send  special  delegates  to  Frankfort,  empowered  to  draw  up  a new  form  of 
union  for  Germany.  Four  days  afterward  a meeting,  which  included  many 
of  the  prominent  men  of  southern  German}/,  was  held  at  Heidelberg,  and 
it  was  decided  to  hold  a Provisional  Assembly  at  Frankfort,  as  a movement 
preliminary  to  the  greater  changes  which  were  anticipated.  This  proposal 
received  a hearty  response;  on  the  31st  of  March  quite  a large  and  “re- 
spectable” body,  from  all  the  German  states,  gathered  in  Frankfort.  The 
demand  of  the  party  headed  by  Hecker,  that  a Republic  should  be  pro- 
claimed, was  rejected  ; but  the  principle  of  “ the  sovereignty  of  the  people’^ 
was  adopted.  Schleswig  and  Holstein,  which  had  risen  in  revolt  against 
the  Danish  rule,  were  declared  to  be  a part  of  Germany,  and  a Committee 
of  Fifty  was  appointed  to  cooperate  with  the  old  Diet  in  calling  a National 
Parliament.  There  was  great  rejoicing  in  Germany  over  these  measures. 
The  people  were  full  of  hope  and  confidence;  the  men  who  were  chosen  as 
candidates  and  elected  by  suffrage,  were  almost  wdthout  exception  persons 
of  character  and  intelligence,  and  when  they  came  together,  six  hundred 
in  number,  and  opened  the  first  National  Parliament  of  Germany,  in  the 
church  of  St.  Paul,  in  Frankfort,  on  the  i8th  of  May,  1848,  there  were  few 
patriots  who  did  not  believe  in  a speedy  and  complete  regeneration  of  their 
country.  In  the  meantime,  however,  Hecker  and  Struve,  who  had  organ- 
ized a great  number  of  Republican  clubs  throughout  Baden,  rose  in  arms 
against  the  government.  After  maintaining  themselves  for  two  weeks  in 
Freiburg  and  the  Black  Forest,  they  were  defeated  and  forced  to  take 
refuge  in  Switzerland.  Hecker  went  to  America,  and  Struve,  making  a 
second  attempt  shortly  afterwards,  was  taken  prisoner.  The  lack  of  prac- 
tical political  experience  among  the  members  soon  disturbed  the  Parliament. 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1848 


199 


The  most  of  them  were  governed  by  theories,  and  insisted  on  carrying  out 
certain  principles,  instead  of  trying  to  adapt  them  to  the  existing  circum- 
stances. With  all  their  honesty  and  genuine  patriotism,  they  relied  too 
much  on  the  sudden  enthusiasm  of  the  people,  and  undervalued  the  actual 
strength  of  the  governing  classes,  because  the  latter  had  so  easily  yielded 
to  the  first  surprise.  The  Republican  party  was  in  a decided  minority  ; 
and  the  remainder  soon  became  divided  between  the  “ Small-Germans,”  who 
favored  the  union  of  all  the  states  except  Austria,  under  a constitutional 
monarchy^  and  the  ‘‘  Great-Germans,”  who  insisted  that  Austria  should  be 
included.  After  a great  deal  of  discussion,  the  former  Diet  was  declared 
abolished,  a Provisional  Central  Government  was  appointed,  and  the  iVrch- 
duke  John  of  Austria — an  amiable,  popular,  inoffensive  old  man — was 
elected  ‘‘Vicar-General  of  the  Empire.”  This  action  was  accepted  by  all 
the  states  except  iVustria  and  Prussia,  which  delayed  to  commit  themselves 
until  they  were  strong  enough  to  oppose  the  whole  scheme. 

The  history  of  1848  is  divided  into  so  many  detached  episodes  that  it 
cannot  be  given  in  a connected  form.  The  revolt  which  broke  out  in 
Schleswig-Holstein  early  in  March  was  supported  by  enthusiastic  German 
volunteers,  and  then  by  a Prussian  army,  which  drove  the  Danes  back  into 
Jutland.  Great  rejoicing  was  occasioned  by  the  destruction  of  the  Danish 
frigate  “ Christian  VIII  ” and  the  capture  of  the  “ Gefion  ” at  Eckernforde 
by  a battery  commanded  by  Duke  Ernest  II  of  Coburg-Gotha.  But  Eng- 
land and  Russia  threatened  armed  intervention  ; Prussia  was  forced  to  sus- 
pend hostilities  and  make  a truce  with  Denmark  on  terms  which  looked 
very  much  like  an  abandonment  of  the  cause  of  Schleswig-Holstein. 

This  action  was  accepted  by  a majority  of  the  Parliament  at  Frankfort 
— a course  which  aroused  the  deepest  indignation  of  the  democratic  minorit}^ 
and  their  sympathizers  everywhere  throughout  Germany.  On  the  i8th  of 
September  barricades  were  thrown  up  in  the  streets  of  Frankfort,  and  an 
armed  mob  stormed  the  church  where  the  Parliament  was  in  session,  but 
was  driven  back  by  Prussian  and  Hessian  troops.  Two  members.  General 
Auerswald  and  Prince  Lichnowsky,  were  barbarously  murdered  in  attempt- 
ing to  escape  from  the  cit}^  This  lawless  and  bloody  event  was  a great 
damage  to  the  national  cause  ; the  two  leading  states,  Prussia  and  Austria, 
instantly  adopted  a sterner  policy,  and  there  were  soon  signs  of  a general 
reaction  against  the  Revolution.  The  condition  of  Austria  at  this  time  was 
very  critical.  The  uprising  in  Vienna  had  been  followed,  we  have  seen,  by 
powerful  and  successful  rebellions  in  Lombardy,  Hungary,  and  Bohemia,  and 
the  Empire  of  the  Hapsburgs  was  on  the  point  of  dissolution.  The  struggle 


200 


THE  REVOLUTION  OE  1848 


was  confused  and  made  more  bitter  by  the  hostility  of  the  different  nationali- 
ties ; the  Croatians,  at  the  call  of  the  emperor,  rose  against  the  Hungarians, 
and  then  the  Germans,  in  the  Legislative  Assembly  held  at  Vienna,  accused 
the  government  of  being  guided  by  Slavonic  influences.  Another  furious  out- 
break occurred.  Count  Latour,  the  former  minister  of  war,  was  hung  to  a 
lamp-post,  and  the  city  was  again  in  the  hands  of  the  revolutionists.  Kos-^ 
suth,  who  had  become  all-powerful  in  Hungary,  had  already  raised  an  army, 
to  be  employed  in  conquering  the  independence  of  his  country,  and  he  now 
marched  rapidly  towards  Vienna,  which  was  threatened  by  the  Austrian 
general,  Windischgratz.  Almost  within  sight  of  the  city  he  was  defeated 
by  Jellachich,  the  Ban  of  Croatia  ; the  latter  joined  the  Austrians,  and  after 
a furious  bombardment  Vienna  was  taken  by  storm.  Messenhauser,  the 
commander  of  the  insurgents,  and  Robert  Blum,  a member  of  the  National 
Parliament,  were  afterwards  shot  by  order  of  Windischgratz,  who  crushed 
out  all  resistance  by  the  most  severe  and  inhuman  measures.  Hungary, 
nevertheless,  was  already  practically  independent,  and  Kossuth  stood  at  the 
head  of  the  government.  The  movement  was  eagerly  supported  by  the 
people ; an  army  of  one  hundred  thousand  men  was  raised,  including  cav- 
alry which  could  hardly  be  equalled  in  Europe.  Kossuth  was  supported 
by  Gorgey  and  the  Polish  generals,  Bern  and  Dembinski ; and  although  the 
Hungarians  at  first  fell  back  before  Windischgratz,  who  marched  against 
them  in  December,  they  gained  a series  of  splendid  victories  in  the  spring 
of  1849,  and  their  success  seemed  assured.  Austria  was  forced  to  call  upon 
Russia  for  help,  and  the  Emperor  Nicholas  responded  by  sending  an  army 
of  one  hundred  and  fort}^  thousand  men,  Kossuth  vainly  hoped  for  the 
intervention  of  England  and  France  in  favor  of  Hungary ; up  to  the  end  of 
May  the  patriots  were  still  victorious  ; then  followed  defeats  in  the  field 
and  confusion  in  the  councils.  The  Hungarian  government  and  a large 
part  of  the  army  fell  back  to  Arad,  where,  on  the  iith  of  August,  Kossuth 
transferred  his  dictatorship  to  Gorgey,  and  the  latter,  two  days  afterwards, 
surrendered  at  Vilagos,  with  about  twenty-five  thousand  men,  to  the  Russian 
general,  Rudiger. 

In  the  following  chapter  we  will  attempt  to  elucidate  certain  of  these 
rather  complicated  political  situations. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

(FIFTH  DECADE) 

THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1848  (CONTINUED) 

[Resuini. — Main  events  in  preceding  chapter  : Outbreak  of  war  in  Sicily  and  Lombardy — Triumph  of 
the  Revolution  in  France — Abdication  of  Louis  Philippe — The  Fall  of  Metternich — Treaty  of  Milan.] 

A BONE  of  contention  whicli  complicated  German  foreign  relations  was 
the  Schleswig-Holstein  question.  The  two  duchies  were  governed 
by  their  own  estates  with  the  King  of  Denmark  as  duke,  so  that 
their  union  with  Denmark  was  merely  personal,  in  the  crown.  But  the 
population  of  Holstein  was  German,  as  was  the  case  largely  in  Schleswig. 
The  people  of  the  duchies,  therefore,  shared  in  the  German  national  feeling 
and  strongly  opposed  any  closer  union  with  Denmark.  But  on  his  acces- 
sion to  the  throne.  King  Frederick  VH  of  Denmark  granted  a constitution, 
in  which  all  parts  of  the  kingdom  were  to  be  treated  alike,  thus  amalga- 
mating the  German  duchies  with  the  Danish  nation. 

Another  dispute  was  vitally  connected  with  this.  The  Salic  law  of 
succession  was  claimed  in  Schleswig  and  Holstein,  but  did  not  apply  in 
Denmark.  Frederick  VII  was  likely  to  be  the  last  of  the  male  line,  so  that 
on  his  death  the  duchies  and  Denmark  would  be  divided.  In  1846  the  then 
King,  Christian  VIII,  issued  a declaration  that  this  claim  of  his  German 
subjects  would  be  disregarded,  and  the  constitution  of  Frederick  VII  was 
the  realization  of  this  policy. 

At  this  the  Holsteiners  revolted  and  the  Prussian  King,  at  the  request 
of  the  German  Diet,  sent  troops  to  their  support. 

Austria  had  been  paralyzed  in  the  spring  of  1848  by  insurrections 
which  blazed  out  in  all  quarters  of  the  empire.  But  later  in  the  year  the 
tide  turned  and  the  Emperor  was  able  to  take  a more  decided  policy  in  Ger- 
many. When  the  question  of  German  federation  was  before  the  National 
Assembly  the  status  of  Austria  was  of  critical  importance.  Should  only 
the  German  parts  of  that  empire  be  admitted  ? or  should  the  entire  empire, 

201 


202 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  184.8 


with  its  motley  population,  including  thirty  million  Slavs  and  Magyars,  be 
a part  of  Germany  ? or  should  Austria  be  excluded  altogether  ? 

The  first  might  have  happened  if  the  Austrian  Empire  had  become  dis- 
integrated, as  seemed  probable  when  the  National  Assembly  met.  But  when 
the  choice  was  narrowed  to  one  of  the  latter  alternatives  the  difficulties 
seemed  insuperable.  As  the  lesser  of  the  two  evils,  the  Assembly  voted  to 
form  the  federation  without  Austria  at  all.  Thereupon  Austria  promptly 
announced  that  it  would  neither  let  itself  be  expelled  from  the  German 
Confederation  nor  let  German  provinces  be  separated  from  the  invisible 
monarchy.”  The  election  of  the  Prussian  King  to  the  imperial  headship 
was  the  decisive  stroke.  He  was  under  Austrian  influence  and  reluctant 
to  risk  a war.  Further,  he  rejected  the  offered  crown  because  it  did  not 
come  from  a legitimate  authority.  And  immediately  afterward  the  Austrian 
delegates  withdrew  from  the  Assembly.  Others  followed.  The  small  gov- 
ernments had  generally  accepted  the  constitution,  but  the  Assembly  was 
powerless  without  Prussia  and  Austria.  It  had  reached  its  conclusions  too 
late.  The  reaction  had  come.  The  Assembly  crumbled  away.  Adjourn- 
ing its  sessions  to  Stuttgart,  the  remnant  identified  itself  with  futile  insur- 
rections, and  finally  was  turned  ignominiously  out  of  doors.  The  revolution 
had  spent  its  force.  Under  constraint  from  Austria  and  Russia,  the  Prus- 
sian King  withdrew  his  troops  from  Holstein  and  abandoned  the  duchies  to 
the  Danes.  The  constitutions  were  revoked  in  nearly  all  the  states.  The 
old  Diet  was  restored  and  the  old  Germanic  Confederation,  under  the  head- 
ship of  Austria,  was  declared  still  in  legal  existence.  German  unity  was 
still  in  the  future  and  constitutional  freedom  was  yet  a dream. 

The  attitude  of  Metternich  in  the  presence  of  demands  made  by  the 
other  nationalities  of  the  empire  for  reform,  following  one  another  in  rapid 
succession,  had  been  that  of  a temporizer,  who  thinks  that  by  skillful 
manoeuvering  he  can,  in  time,  defeat,  by  causing  disunion  ‘ among  his 
adversaries.  In  Hungary  he  did  not  dare  to  play  the  game  wdth  the  hard, 
repressive  measures  which  he  had  no  hesitation  in  enforcing  in  Germany 
and  in  Ital3^  The  Hungarian  constitution  was  a contract  the  validity  of 
which  had  been  recognized  by  the  Hapsburgs  even  when  they  had  infringed 
its  provisions.  In  that  country  there  was  a point  beyond  which  his  opposi- 
tion to  peculiar  demands,  energetically  urged,  could  not  go.  Although, 
then,  no  one  better  than  he  understood  the  underhand  means,  well  known 
to  tyrants,  the  methods  of  seduction,  of  dividing  by  sowing  suspicion  in  the 
ranks  of  one’s  adversaries,  yet,  in  his  dealings  with  Hungary,  he  not  only 
disdained  to  have  recourse  to  those  methods,  but,  either  from  over-confidence 


THE  REVOLUTION  OE  1848 


203 


in  his  own  position,  or  because  he  had  found  that  yielding  always  incited 
fresh  demands,  he  acted  in  a manner  which  united  against  him  all  the  ele- 
ments of  opposition.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to  infringe  the  Constitution 
by  directing  Count. Apponyi,  whom  he  had  made  Chancellor  of  Hungary 
in  succession  to  the  popular  Count  Mailath — removed  for  the  purpose — to 
supersede  the  County  Assemblies  by  administrators  appointed  by  himself. 
By  this  action,  and  by  obstinately  refusing  to  concede,  even  slightly,  to  the 
demands  of  the  Diet  of  1847,  he  prepared  the  way  for  that  outburst  of 
national  feeling  which  obeyed  the  signal  to  Europe  given  by  the  mob  of 
Paris  in  February  of  the  following  year.  But  if  Metternich  made  for  him- 
self difficulties  in  Hungary,  others  were  being  prepared  for  him  in  Italy, 
and  even  in  Germany. 

In  the  former  country,  as  we  have  seen,  for  some  years  after  the  expul- 
sion of  Mazzini,  the  surface  had  been  calm.  Only  the  surface,  however. 
The  seeds  dispersed  all  over  Europe  by  Mazzini  from  his  sanctuary  in  Lon- 
don were  taking  root  everywhere,  and  in  maii}^  places  the  hardy  stalk  was 
forcing  its  way  upward.  In  1844  a rising  had  been  concerted  in  Calabria. 
The  plans  were  well  considered,  and  it  is  possible,  even  probable,  that  they 
might  have  succeeded  had  not  Sir  James  Graham,  the  Postmaster-General 
of  Great  Britain,  opened  Mazzini’s  letters  and  communicated  their  contents 
to  the  Austrians.  The  executors  of  the  plot  then  marched  into  a trap,  and 
paid  the  penalty  with  their  lives.  For  a moment  the  surface  became  again 
calm.  Two  years  later,  however,  the  seizure  of  Cracow  by  the  democratic 
party  in  Poland,  spread  hope  anew.  But  when  Metternich  replied  to  this 
demonstration  by  boldly  annexing  Cracow  to  Austria  the  under-swell,  which 
had  not  then  in  Italy  broken  the  surface,  subsided.  An  event  occurred  just 
afterwards  in  the  canton  of  Ticino  which  proved  the  little  cloud  which  was 
to  increase  and  burst  forth  into  storm.  The  cause  did  not  seem  at  the  outset 
to  be  one  of  those  which  bring  about  convulsions.  In  the  early  part  of  1846, 
Ticino,  a canton  of  Switzerland,  on  the  Italian  slope  of  the  Alps,  had 
asked  Charles-Albert,  King  of  Sardinia,  to  allow  it  to  transmit  the  salt  it 
manufactured  through  Piedmont.  It  happened  that  a predecessor  of  Charles- 
Albert  had  made  with  xA^ustria  in  1751  a treat}^  whereby,  in  consideration 
of  Austria  granting  to  Piedmont  the  privilege  of  sending  through  Lom- 
bardy the  salt  it  was  selling  to  Venice,  the  latter  agreed  to  renounce  his 
trade  with  the  Swiss  cantons.  To  grant  the  request  of  Ticino  would,  then, 
be  to  infringe,  technically,  the  treaty  of  1751.  Nevertheless,  Charles-Albert 
did  grant  it.  The  information  of  this  action  on  the  part  of  Charles-Albert 
roused  Metternich  to  a white  heat.  Of  all  the  cantons  of  Switzerland, 


204 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1848 


Ticino  was  the  most  hated.  It  was  Ticino  which  had  been  the  abode  of, 
which  had  given  refuge  to,  Mazzini  and  his  band.  It  was  from  Ticino  that 
they  had  made  their  abortive  attempt  on  Italy ; and  now  Charles-Albert, 
himself  alwa^^s  under  suspicion,  and  something  more  than  suspicion,  of 
cherishing  designs  little  compatible  with  the  predominance  of  Austria  in 
Italy,  had  conferred  a favor  on  Ticino. 

Metternich  acted  with  his  accustomed  decision  and  vigor.  He  declared 
to  Charles-Albert  that  Austria  regarded  the  treaty  of  1751  as  violated.  A 
few  days  later,  he  retaliated  by  increasing  the  custom  duty  on  wines  sent 
from  Piedmont  to  Lombardy ; taking  special  care,  at  the  same  time,  to 
inform  him  that  this  change  would  apply  only  to  Piedmont,  and  to  none  of 
the  other  states  of  Italy.  Charles-Albert  retorted  by  lowering  the  wine 
duties  between  Piedmont  and  France,  and  when  the  Austrian  ambassador, 
alarmed  at  this  act,  offered  to  recall  his  Government’s  action  if  Charles- 
Albert  would  withdraw  the  concession  to  Ticino,  the  latter  absolutely 
refused.  Not  only  did  he  refuse,  but  recognizing  tacitl}^  the  position  which 
had  been  assigned  to  him  by  the  truest  lovers  of  Italian  unity,  he  began  to 
take  measures  to  prepare  for  an  event  which,  in  the  excited  condition  of 
feeling  in  Italy,  might  at  any  moment  be  precipitated.  The  feeling  that 
Charles-Albert  might  be  depended  upon  was  gradually  making  its  way 
through  Italy,  especially  in  the  Papal  states,  when  Pope  Gregory  XVI  died 
(June  I,  1846).  Fifteen  dajrs  later,  mainly  through  the  influence  of  the 
reforming  party  to  which  he  was  supposed  to  belong,  Giovanni  Mastai 
Ferretti  was  elected  his  successor.  The  new  Pope,  who  took  the  name  of 
Pius  IX,  began  his  papal  career  by  issuing  a general  amnesty  to  those 
condemned  for  political  offenses.  By  this  act,  though  it  was  hedged  with 
conditions,  and  by  the  support  accorded  to  him  by  men  who  greatly  influ- 
enced the  minds  of  young  Italy,  Pius  IX,  a few  months  after  his  installa- 
tion, found  himself  regarded  throughout  the  peninsula  as  the  national  hero. 
Tliis,  too,  in  spite  of  one  or  two  attempts  he  made  to  restrict  the  operation 
of  the  favors  he  had  granted.  Even  in  Milan,  the  headquarters  of  the 
Austrians,  hymns  to  Pio  Nono  were  sung  at  the  theatre,  whilst  the  Viceroy 
and  his  family  were  received  there  in  silence. 

Metternich  had  fairly  ta.ken  the  alarm.  Whether  he  instigated,  or  was 
aware  of  or  sympathized  with,  a conspiracy  which  was  organized  by  the 
Austrian  party  in  Rome  to  get  rid  of  Pio  Nono  on  the  occasion  of  a popular 
demonstration  which  took  place,  and  was  foiled,  on  the  anniversary  of  the 
amnesty  of  1816,  may,  indeed,  never  be  known.  But  the  idea  of  a revolu- 
tionary Pope — and  to  him  reform  and  revolution  were  synonyms — was  an 


THE  REVOLUTION  OE  1S4S 


205 


abomination.  His  reply  to  the  Papal  concessions  was  the  occupation  of 
Ferrara  by  Austrian  troops.  This  action  roused  a bitter  cry  throughout 
Italy.  It  quadrupled,  and  more  than  quadrupled,  the  hatred  against 
Austria.  The  impression  spread  rapidly  that  the  time  had  arrived  when 
the  Pope  and  the  King  of  Sardinia  must  combine  to  expel  the  hated 
foreigner.  Before,  however,  any  movement  could  be  inaugurated.  Lord 
Palmerston,  who  was  then  wisely  directing  the  foreign  policy  of  England, 
had  sent  Lord  Minto  to  Italy  to  encourage  the  various  princes  to  stand  firm 
to  the  cause  of  reform,  whilst  he  had  urged  upon  Metternich  the  necessity 
of  evacuating  Ferrara.  Most  unwillingly  did  the  Austrian  Minister  con- 
sent, but  he  did  yield  to  necessity,  and  in  December,  1847,  Imperial 
troops  evacuated  Ferrara.  But  this  was  not  the  only  blow  dealt  to  the  anti- 
revolutionary policy  of  Metternich  at  this  period.  He  was  to  experience 
the  truth  of  the  saying  that  the  worst  foes  a man  can  have  are  those  of  his 
own  household.  If  he  could  have  trusted  any  one  it  would  have  been  the 
Austrian  Prince  who  ruled  in  Tuscany.  But  not  only  did  Leopold  of  Haps- 
burg,  who  reigned  at  Florence,  refuse  the  urgent  demand  of  Metternich  to 
dispense  with  the  services  of  his  Liberal  counselor,  Cosimo  Rodolfi,  but  as 
time  went  on,  he  showed  an  increasing  sympathy  with  many  of  the  objects 
of  the  reformers.  Soon  a crisis  arose  which  tried  to  the  utmost  the 
patience  of  the  nations.  Under  pressure,  put  upon  him  by  his  subjects,  a 
pressure  which  he  had  provoked  by  his  unwisdom,  the  Duke  of  Lucca  had 
taken  advantage  of  a clause  in  the  treaty  of  Vienna  to  resign  his  terri- 
tories to  Leopold  of  Tuscany.  The  same  clause  which  enabled  Leopold  to 
accept  the  transfer  necessitated  the  surrender  by  him  of  the  district  of 
Fivizzano  to  the  Duke  of  Modena.  The  people  of  that  district  refused  to 
be  transferred,  whereupon  the  Duke,  summoning  to  his  aid  the  troops  of 
Marshal  Radetzky,  marched  into  the  town  of  Fivizzano  and  massacred  the 
inhabitants.  Troops  of  the  same  nation  shortly  afterwards  occupied  Parma, 
and  although  the  Duke  of  Modena  was  forced  to  yield  his  pretensions  to 
the  towns  of  Pontremoli  and  Bagnone,  the  transaction  regarding  Fivizzano 
-and  the  action  of  the  Austrian  troops  embittered  the  Italians  against  the 
foreigner. 

Matters,  it  will  be  remembered,  were  not  progressing  more  favorably 
for  Metternich  in  the  south  of  Italy.  The  rule  of  the  Bourbon  prince  who 
ruled  at  Naples  under  the  title  of  Ferdinand  H,  but  who  is  better  known  as 
King  Bomba,  had  been  characterized  by  a tyranny  of  the  worst  description. 
His  subjects  had  shown  their  sense  of  its  harshness  by  spasmodic  out- 
breaks. They  had  risen  at  Aquila  in  1841  ; at  Cosenga  in  1844;  and,  as  I 


206 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1848 


have  previously  recorded,  at  Calabria  in  July  of  the  same  year.  In  every 
instance  the  insurgents  had  been  suppressed,  and  the  scaffold  and  prisons 
had  restored  momentary  order.  But  the  spirit  which  inspired  those  out- 
breaks defied  the  tyranny  of  the  monarch,  and  as  the  repression  of  all  that 
makes  life  valuable  to  a man  became  more  severe,  the  resolution  to  buy 
freedom  at  whatever  cost  became  more  fixed.  This  resolution  developed 
into  action  at  Messina  the  ist  of  September,  1847.  rising  at  Messina 

was  repressed,  and,  as  usual,  its  repression  was  sealed  with  blood.  But 
failure  had  not  deprived  the  Italian  and  Sicilian  wooers  of  freedom  of  their 
courage.  Naples  rose,  Palermo  rose.  Ferdinand  was  driven  from  every 
place  in  Sicily  except  the  castle  of  Messina,  and  he  was  forced,  January 
29,  to  grant  a Constitution  to  Naples.  The  granting  of  this  Constitution, 
poor  as  it  was,  produced  a marked  effect  on  the  spirit  and  the  proceedings 
of  the  reformers  in  Rome  and  Northern  Italy.  In  the  former,  the  Pope, 
who  had  already  issued  a decree  assuring  separate  and  independent  respon- 
sibility to  each  of  his  ministers,  now  promised  a secular  ministry  and  an 
increase  of  the  arm3^  In  Lombardy  the  patriotic  feeling  it  evoked  caused 
the  Archduke  Rainier  and  his  councilors  to  invoke  the  earnest  attention  of 
Marshal  Radetzky.  A little  later,  and  Radetzky  established  martial  law  in 
Milan.  In  Turin,  Charles-Albert  was  compelled,  though  with  great  reluct- 
ance, to  grant  a Statuto,  which  had  the  form,  though  at  first  not  the  sub- 
stance, of  a Constitution.  In  Venice,  Daniel  Manin  called  upon  the  Vene- 
tian congregation  to  demand  a real  representation.  All  this  time  Metternich 
had  been,  as  usual,  endeavoring  to  devise  schemes  whereby  the  popular 
feeling  might  be  repressed.  At  first  he  had  sent  a confidential  agent  to 
strengthen  the  hands  of  Rainier  in  Lombardy.  The  agent  had  succeeded 
no  better  than  the  archduke,  and  both  had  agreed  to  invoke  the  armed  aid 
of  Radetzky.  That  might  suffice  for  Lombard}^.  But  Sicily  was  lost ; 
Rome,  Tuscau}^  Piedmont  had  accepted  the  constitutional  principle  ; Venice 
had  joined  in  the  cry  for  freedom  ; Hungary,  we  have  seen,  had  wrung  from 
him  many  concessions.  Everywhere,  in  those  regions,  except  in  Lombardy, 
kept  down  by  force  of  arms,  the  cause  of  absolutism  seemed  lost.  Nor, . 
whilst  it  was  gliding  from  his  practiced  hand  in  the  countries  more  imme- 
diately under  his  own  domination,  had  it  prospered  elsewhere.  In  Switzer- 
land he  had  supported  the  reactionary  adherents  of  the  Souderbund  and  had 
been  forced  to  witness  their  humiliating  defeat. 

With  respect  to  Denmark,  the  king  of  which  country  had  issued  a 
proclamation  declaring  that  all  the  provinces  under  his  crown  formed  one 
sole  and  the  same  state,  he  had  been  placed  in  this  dilemma : and  if  he 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  184.S 


207 


opposed  the  king  and  asserted  the  claims  of  Holstein,  he  would  serve  the 
national  party  ; if  he  were  to  support  him,  he  would  infringe  the  Treaty  of 
Vienna.  Nor,  with  respect  to  German}^,  were  the  prospects  at  all  reas- 
suring. Frederick  William  III,  King  of  Prussia,  his  all}^  against  Napo- 
leon, had  died  in  1840.  His  successor,  Frederick  William  IV,  began  by 
according  an  amnesty  to  political  offenders,  by  giving  a certain  amount  of 
liberty  to  the  press,  and  by  granting  extended  powers  to  the  Provincial 
Estates.  These  acts  were  accomplished  in  opposition  to  the  warnings  of 
the  Austrian  Minister  who  had  guided  the  policy  of  his  father.  The  king 
did  not  indeed  proceed  so  far  as  to  redeem  the  promise  made  by  his  father 
in  1813-14,  and  broken  on  the  morrow  of  Napoleon’s  downfall — the  promise 
to  grant  his  people  a Constitution.  He  excused  himself  on  the  ground 
that  a written  Constitution  indicated  want  of  confidence.  He  expressed 
himself  clearly  on  this  point  when,  in  Januaiy,  1847,  summoned  to 
Berlin  the  representatives  of  all  the  Provincial  Estates  to  discuss  affairs. 

I do  not  wish,”  said  he,  “ that  a piece  of  parchment  should  come  between 
me  and  my  subjects.”  Even  this  action,  which  was  not  intended  to  carry 
much  weight,  was  regarded  by  Metteriiich  as  the  insertion  of  the  thin  end 
of  the  wedge,  and  he  regarded  it  as  fraught  with  evil  consequences.  But  if 
Metternich  looked  upon  the  small  concessions  of  the  King  of  Prussia  with 
apprehension,  with  far  greater  indignation  did  he  view  the  movement  in 
those  Germanic  states  which  had  been,  as  he  thought,  completely  brought 
under  his  influence  by  the  decrees  of  Carlsbad  and  the  Conferences  of 
Teplitz  and  Laybach.  Twice  had  he  crushed  the  national  aspirations  in 
Baden;  once,  very  decisively,  in  Bavaria  and  Wurtemberg.  But  in  1845 
there  had  arisen  in  Baden  a movement  which,  though  he  imprisoned  its 
author,  he  could  not  suppress.  In  the  beginning  of  1848  the  Liberals  of 
that  grand  duchy  were  ready  to  place  themselves  at  the  head  of  a move- 
ment for  the  unity  of  Germany.  In  Wurtemberg,  the  progress  had  been 
made  more  gradual ; but  even  there  it  had  far  passed  beyond  the  limits 
allowed  by  Metternich,  for  in  1847  king  had  placed  a Liberal  Minister 
in  power,  and  that  Minister  had  summoned  a representative  chamber.  In 
Bavaria,  at  the  same  time,  the  Liberals  had  forced  the  king,  the  lover  of 
Lola  Montez,  to  abdicate.  His  son,  Maximilian,  confirmed  the  decree 
wrung  from  his  father  to  summon  a parliament.  In  Hesse  Cassel,  in 
Hesse  Darmstadt,  and  in  Nassau,  Liberal  decrees  were  wrung  from  half- 
willing,  often  unwilling,  rulers,  and  the  system  of  Metternich  seemed 
everywhere  tottering  to  its  fall. 

Contemporaneous  with  these  events  came  the  shock,  the  electric  shock, 


208 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  184S 


of  the  revolution  in  Paris.  That  revolution  decided  the  Liberals  of  Saxony, 
and  drastic  reforms  were  conceded  by  the  helpless  king.  In  Vienna,  the 
arrival  of  the  news  was  speedily  followed  by  the  posting  of  placards  an- 
nouncing the  approaching  downfall  of  Metternich.  For  the  first  time  in 
the  crisis  of  revolution  through  which  he  had  been  passing  the  Austrian 
autocrat  was  really  alarmed.  For  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  began  to 
admit  the  necessity  of  making  concessions  to  the  spirit  of  reform.  But  he 
did  nothing.  He  still  hoped  that  the  crisis  might  be  tided  over.  Vienna 
would  not  move  unless  the  impulsion  should  come  from  without,  and,  taking 
a survey  of  Germany,  he  did  not  see  whence  it  should  come.  Like  Napo- 
leon, in  1813,  he  trusted  to  time  to  dissolve  the  alliance  against  him.  But, 
though  he  had  scanned  Germany,  and  had  even  glanced  at  Italy,  he  had 
omitted  to  take  Hungary  into  his  calculations,  and  it  was  from  Hungary 
that  the  blow  came  which  was  to  strike  him  down.  The  most  recent  action 
of  Metternich  toward  Hungary,  spoken  of  in  a previous  page,  had  convinced 
Kossuth  that  there  could  be  no  peace  with  such  a man.  As  Metternich  had 
felt  toward  Napoleon  in  1813-15,  so  Kossuth  felt  regarding  Metternich  in 
1848.  On  the  3d  of  March  the.  Hungarian  leader  made  a speech  in  the 
Pressburg  x\ssembly,  pointing  out  in  glowing  terms  the  hindrances  which 
had  prevented  a constitutional  union  between  the  two  countries  ; declaring 
the  freedom  of  any  part  of  the  empire  could  only  be  assured  by  working 
for  the  freedom  of  the  whole,  and  urging  that  an  address  should  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  emperor  embodying  the  reforms  actually  essential.  The  cir- 
culation of  this  speech  in  Vienna  caused  the  greatest  excitement,  and  a 
certain  professor.  Dr.  Lohner,  at  a meeting  of  the  Reading  and  Debating 
Societ}^  of  the  University  of  that  city,  proposed  that  negotiations  on  the 
subject  should  be  opened  with  the  Estates  of  Lower  Austria — then  about  to 
sit  in  Vienna.  This  proposal  was  not  adopted.  In  place  of  it,  a petition 
for  moderate  reform  received  the  approval  of  the  professors.  The  students, 
bolder  and  more  enthusiastic,  took  their  stand  on  a programme  far  more 
advanced,  but  in  itself  just  and  moderate. 

Still  Metternich  underrated  the  danger.  Still  he  showed  himself 
opposed  to  such  concessions  as  would  have  calmed  the  rising  feeling.  Still 
he  calculated  that  time  was  with  him.  Time  was  not  with  him.  Every 
post  brought  news  showing  that  the  desire  for  the  unity  of  Germany  was 
universal ; that  the  committees  of  the  several  states  of  Germany  had  sum- 
moned a Constituent  x\ssembly  to  meet  at  Frankfort  to  insure  that  unity. 
This  news  so  greatly  encouraged  the  reformers  that  even  the  professors 
resolved  to  take  the  advanced  step  of  adding  to  their  programme  a clause 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  184.S 


209 


demanding  the  removal  of  JMetternicli.  They  presented  their  petition  to 
the  Emperor  Ferdinand  on  the  12th  of  March.  The  emperor  received  them 
coldly,  and  curtly  replied  that  he  would  consider  the  matter.  With  this 
reply  the  professors  returned  to  the  students,  whom  they  had  begged  to  await 
the  results  of  their  action.  The  students  heard  the  results  with  a laugh  of 
defiance,  and  resolved  to  act  for  themselves  on  the  morrow.  Accordingly, 
on  the  13th,  they  gathered  in  great  numbers  in  the  large  hall  of  the  Uni- 
versity, and  marched  thence,  in  serried  ranks,  to  the  Landhaus — the  meet- 
ing place  that  day  of  the  Estates  of  Lower  Austria.  As  they  marched  on 
their  number  increased  rapidly.  The  people  were  evidently  with  them.  At 
length  they  arrived  in  front  of  the  Landhaus.  The  Estates  within  its 
walls  were  sitting,  awaiting  the  prescribed  hour  to  begin  discussion.  Whilst 
many  of  them  were  urging  their  president  to  waive  ceremony  and  to  begin 
at  once,  and  whilst  the  president  was  stating  his  reasons  for  refusing,  a con- 
fused murmur  of  voices  was  heard  outside ; a few  minutes  later  the  door 
was  burst  open  and  the  students  rushed  in.  After  some  discussion  it  was 
agreed  that  a deputation  of  twelve  of  the  students  should  be  present  at  the 
debates,  which  were  about  to  begin,  and  the  crowd  withdrew  to  elect  these 
delegates.  In  their  absence  the  Estates  rapidly  agreed  upon  the  petition 
which  they  would  present  to  the  emperor,  and  their  spokesman  went  out  to 
read  to  the  crowd.  Its  demands  were  so  totally  inadequate  that  the  crowd 
rejected  it  with  indignation  ; and,  further  roused  by  the  reading  of  Kos- 
suth’s great  speech,  forced  their  way  once  more  into  the  Landhaus,  and 
insisted  that  the  terms  of  it  should  be  enlarged.  Finally  the  president  set 
off  with  the  petition,  and  the  crowd,  now  reinforced  by  many  who  had  come 
on  hearing  that  the  soldiers  were  marching  to  attack  the  students,  pressed 
on  and  forced  their  way  within  the  city  walls. 

Meanwhile  Metternich  was  in  the  castle,  bent  on  resistance.  He  who  had 
hated  revolution,  who  had  spent  the  best  years  of  his  life  in  reading,  in  order 
to  overthrow  him — the  character  of  the  man,  who,  in  his  eyes,  was  the  In- 
carnation of  the  Revolution — was  now  face  to  face  with  the  Revolution  itself. 
Not  for  an  instant  did  he  flinch.  His  proud  face  was  as  proud,  as  calm,  as 
unruffled  as  when  it  had  looked,  at  Dresden  in  1813,  with  the  assurance  of 
coming  triumph,  on  the  features  of  Napoleon.  Not  a single  point  would  he 
yield.  Vainly  did  the  President  of  the  Estates,  warning  him  of  the  danger 
outside,  entreat  him  to  comply  with  the  request  of  which  he  was  the  bearer. 
Noticing  in  the  attitude  and  language  of  the  commandant  of  the  castle. 
Count  Latour,  some  signs  of  hesitation,  Metternich  desired  him  to  make 
over  his  command  to  Prince  Windischgratz,  a man  he  knew  of  iron  resolu- 
14 


210 


THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1848 


tion.  lu  this  action  the  Imperial  Council,  the  members  of  which  were 
present,  concurred.  But  the  majority  of  them  declined,  for  the  moment,  to 
accord  their  sanction  to  a further  proposal  of  Metternich’s,  that  Windisch- 
gratz  should  also  be  appointed  military  dictator  of  the  city,  with  power  to 
use  cannon  against  the  people.  In  the  meantime  the  people  were  asserting 
themselves  with  effect  against  the  not  too  willing  soldiers.  It  soon  appeared, 
too,  that  the  sympathies  of  the  great  middle  class  were  with  them.  As  a 
last  resource,  one  of  the  archdukes  ordered  the  gunners  to  fire  on  the  crowd. 
The  master  gunner  refused  either  to  obey  his  orders  or  to  allow  the  gunners 
to  obey  them.  A few  minutes  later  the  deputations  of  citizens  forced  their 
way  into  the  castle.  Treated  at  first  somewhat  roughly,  they  maintained 
their  ground  firmly,  demanding  the  immediate  resignation  of  Metternich. 
For  a short  space  of  time  their  demand  was  not  listened  to,  but  the  news 
that  the  students  had  obtained  arms  and  were  pressing  on  changed  the  tone 
of  the  courtiers.  At  last,  ]\Ietternich,  yielding  to  the  urgent  pressure  of  the 
Archduke  John,  and,  I am  convinced,  to  the  general  safety  rather  than  to 
care  for  his  own,  stepped  forward  and  declared  that,  as  they  all  told  him  that 
his  resignation  would  restore  peace  to  Austria,  he  resigned,  and  he  wished 
good  luck  to  the  new  Government.  Of  all  the  Council,  the  onl}^  man  who 
protested  against  his  resignation  was  Windischgratz.  The  archdukes  and 
the  other  members  seemed  glad  to  be  rid  of  a master. 

Thus  fell  the  man  before  whom  Napoleon  had  fallen.  Thus  fell  with 
him  the  edifice  of  autocratic  absolutism  which  he  had  constructed.  He  fell, 
conscious  of  no  faults,  believing  himself  a martyr,  steadfast  in  his  adherence 
to  his  own  system.  “ If,”  he  wrote  four  years  later,  ‘‘  I had  to  begin  my 
career  again,  I would  follow  again  the  course  I took  before,  and  would  not 
deviate  from  it  for  an  instant.” 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


(SIXTH  DECADE) 

JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


{^ResumL — Our  war  with  Mexico  distinguished  the  history  of  the  Fifth  Decade  in  the  United  States.] 


ZACHARY  TxWLOR  died  after  he  had  been  in  office  a little  more  than 
a year,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  Vice-President  Fillmore,  who  made 
Daniel  Webster  Secretary  of  State.  President  Taylor  had  been  eager 
to  bring  California  into  the  Union  before  the  question  of  slavery  in  that 
territory  should  be  discussed  in  Congress.  He  urged  the  people  of  Cali- 
fornia to  call  a convention  and  organize  a State.  They  did  this  ; and  since 
they  were  almost  wholly  from  the  North,  they  formed  a constitution  pro- 
hibiting slaverjq  and  applied  for  admission. 

At  the  time  when  California  thus  applied,  Henry  Clay  had  come  for- 
ward with  a new  compromise,  by  which  he  hoped  to  settle  the  growing  dis- 
sensions. He  tried  to  satisfy  the  pro-slavery  party  by  proposing  to  grant 
the  right  to  divide  Texas  into  four  States,  to  organize  the  territories  of  Utah 
and  New  Mexico  without  prohibiting  slavery,  and  especially  to  enact  a more 
rigid  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 

The  Constitution  expressly  gave  to  slaveholders  the  right  to  recover  their 
slaves  if  they  escaped  into  another  State  ; but  the  increasing  hostilitj^  of  the 
people  in  the  free  States  to  the  system  of  slavery  made  it  extremely  difficult  for 
slaveholders  to  find  and  recover  runaway  slaves  when  they  escaped  into  the 
free  States.  The  matter  was  one  of  great  irritation  to  slave  owners.  They 
claimed  that  they  were  deprived  of  their  rights  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
Constitution.  The  new  Fugitive  Slave  Law  was  therefore  so  drawn  as  to 
require  United  States  commissioners  to  be  more  vigilant  in  hunting  for 
runaway  slaves.  It  also  gave  the  officers  the  right  to  call  upon  any  citizen 
to  help  them  in  the  search  and  capture.  To  satisfy  the  anti-slavery  men, 
Clay  proposed  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  He 

211 


212 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


took  the  ground  that  if  Utah  and  New  Mexico  were  organized  as  territories 
and  left  to  settle  the  question  of  slavery  themselves,  both  the  pro-slavery 
and  anti-slavery  men  in  those  territories  would  have  equal  rights. 

Webster  gave  his  support  to  the  Compromise  of  1850.  Like  others,  he 
viewed  with  alarm  the  growing  dissension  between  the  two  sections  of  the 
country.  He  was  a great  public  leader,  and  he  worked  with  all  his  might  to 
preserve  the  Union  against  the  attacks  of  the  extreme  pro-slavery  men  and 
the  attacks  of  the  abolitionists. 

California  was  admitted  into  the  Union,  and  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law  was  passed.  There  were  many  at  the  North  who  declared  that  the 
Law  interfered  with  the  sacred  rights  of  personal  liberty.  Some  of  the 
States  passed  personal  liberty  laws,  designed  to  protect  free  negroes 
who  were  charged  with  being  runaway  slaves.  Everywhere  the  hunters 
for  slaves  were  active,  and  the  people  grew  more  restive  at  the  sight. 
The  administration  supported  the  Compromise  of  1850,  and  was  very 
earnest  in  its  effort  to  make  the  Union  powerful  at  home  and  respected 
abroad. 

It  was  a time  when  the  Union  seemed  full  of  prosperity.  There  were 
now  so  many  States,  and  the  population  had  increased  so  much,  that  there 
was  not  room  in  the  old  Capitol  at  Washington  for  the  Senators  and 
Representatives.  President  Fillmore  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  extension 
of  the  present  capitol. 

The  Fugitive  Slave  Law  steadily  defeated  the  purposes  of  peace.  The 
same  section  of  the  Constitution  which  commanded  the  rendering  up  by  the 
States  to  each  other  of  fugitives  from  justice,  had  provided  also  that  per- 
sons ‘‘  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State  under  the  laws  thereof,  escap- 
ing into  another,”  should  be  delivered  up  on  the  claim  of  the  party  to  whom 
such  service  might  be  due ; and  so  early  as  1793  Congress  had  passed  a law 
intended  to  secure  the  execution  of  this  section  with  regard  to  both  classes 
of  fugitives.  Apparently  it  had  been  meant  to  lay  the  duty  of  returning 
both  fugitives  from  justice  and  fugitives  from  service  upon  the  State  author- 
ities ; but  while  considerations  of  mutual  advantage  had  made  it  easy  to 
secure  the  interstate  rendition  of  criminals,  there  had  been  a growing  slack- 
ness in  the  matter  of  rendering  up  fugitive  slaves.  The  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  moreover,  liad  somewhat  complicated  the  matter  by 
deciding  that  the  Federal  government  could  not  impose  upon  State  officials 
the  duty  of  executing  a law  of  the  United  States,  as  it  had  sought  to  do 
in  the  legislation  of  1793.  Local  magistrates,  therefore,  might  decline  to 
issue  warrants  for  the  arrest  or  removal  of  fugitive  slaves.  In  view  of  the 


EMINENT 

Dwight  L.  Moody,  evangelist,  was  born  in  1837,  and 
died  in  1899. 

Minot  J.  Savage,  Unitarian  clergyman  and  author, 
horn  in  1841. 


DIVINES. 

Henry  Ward  Reecher,  one  of  the  greatest  of  pulpit 
orators,  was  born  in  1813,  and  died  in  1887. 

Chas.  H.  Spurgeon,  the  eminent  Knglish  divine,  was 
born  in  1834,  and  died  in  1892. 


Kr(  )(’l  I-M A K I X<  i PUi;SI  i )KXTS. 


(leorgo  Wasliiiigtoii,  tli('  I'athcr  of  liis  Country,  l)oru 
ill  17:’>'2  ; dioil  in  171)9. 

.laiiu's  Monroe,  of  the  “ I-'.ra  of  ( iood  I'eeling,”  horn 
in  1758  ; ilied  in  ISlll. 


Janies  K.  Folk,  of  the  ISIexican  War  Period,  born  in 
179-5  ; died  in  18-19. 

Ahrahiini  TJneoln,  the  Saviour  of  the  Cnioii,  born  in 
1809  ; died  in  180-". 


William  Mel\inl(>y,  of  the  S])anish-Anierican  War  Period,  born  in  184:!. 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


213 


increasing  nnwillingness  of  tlie  free  States  to  take  aii}-  part  in  the  process, 
the  Southern  members  of  Congress  insisted  that  the  Federal  government 
should  itself  make  more  effective  provision  for  the  execution  of  the  Constitu- 
tion in  this  particular ; and  it  was  part  of  the  compromise  accommodation  of 
1850  that  this  demand  should  be  complied  with.  Says  Prof.  Wilson  : 

“Doubtless  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  frame  any  law  which  would 
have  been  palatable  to  the  people  of  the  free  States.  But  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Act  of  1850  seemed  to  embrace  as  many  irritating  provisions  as  possi- 
ble. In  order  to  meet  the  views  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  whole  duty  of 
enforcing  the  Act  was  put  upon  officers  of  the  United  States.  Warrant  for 
the  arrest  or  removal  of  a fugitive  slave  was  to  proceed  in  every  case  from  a 
judge  or  commissioner  of  the  United  States ; this  warrant  was  to  be  exe- 
cuted by  a marshal  of  the  United  States,  who  could  not  decline  to  execute  it 
under  a penalty  of  one  thousand  dollars,  and  who  would  be  held  responsible 
under  his  official  bond  for  the  full  value  of  any  slave  who  should  escape 
from  his  custod\^ ; all  good  citizens  were  required  to  assist  in  the  execution 
of  the  law  when  called  upon  ta  do  so,  and  a heavy  fine  besides  civil  damages 
to  the  owner  of  the  slave,  was  to  be  added  to  six  months^  imprisonment  for 
any  assistance  given  the  fugitive  or  any  attempt  to  effect  his  rescue ; the 
simple  affidavit  of  the  person  who  claimed  the  negro  was  to  be  sufficient 
evidence  of  ownership,  sufficient  basis  for  the  certificate  of  the  court  or  com- 
missioner, and  this  certificate  was  to  be  conclusive  as  against  the  operation 
of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus 

The  law,  moreover,  was  energetically  and  immediately  put  into  opera- 
tion by  slave  owners.  In  some  cases  negroes  who  had  long  since  escaped 
into  the  Northern  States,  and  who  had  settled  and  married  there,  were  seized 
upon  the  affidavit  of  their  former  owners,  and  by  force  of  the  Federal  govern- 
ment carried  awa}^  into  slavery  again.  Riots  and  rescues  became  frequent 
in  connection  with  the  execution  of  process  under  the  law.  One  of  the  most 
notable  cases  occurred  in  Boston,  where,  in  February,  1851,  a negro  named 
Shadrack  was  rescued  from  the  United  States  marshal  by  a mob  composed 
for  the  most  part  of  negroes,  and  enabled  to  escape  into  Canada. 

It  was  impossible  to  quiet  feeling  and  establish  the  compromise  meas- 
ures in  the  esteem  of  the  people  while  such  a law,  a part  of  that  compromise, 
was  being  pressed  to  execution  in  such  a way.  Neither  section,  moreover, 
understood  or  esteemed  the  purpose  or  spirit  of  the  other.  “ Many  of  the 
slave-holding  States,”  Clay  warned  his  fellow  Whigs  in  the  North,  when 
they  showed  signs  of  restlessness  under  the  operation  of  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law,  “ and  many  public  meetings  of  the  people  in  them,  have 


214 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


deliberately  declared  that  their  adherence  to  the  Union  depends  upon  the 
preservation  of  that  law,  and  that  its  abandonment  would  be  the  signal  of 
the  dissolution  of  the  Union.”  But  most  Northern  men  thought  that  the 
South  had  threatened  chiefly  for  effect,  and  would  not  venture  to  carry  out 
half  her  professed  purpose,  should  she  be  defeated.  Southern  men,  on  their 
part,  esteemed  very  slightingly  the  fighting  spirit  of  the  North.  They 
regarded  it  disdainfully  as  a section  given  over  to  a self-seeking  struggle  for 
wealth,  and  they  knew  commercial  wealth  to  be  pusillanimous  to  a degree 
when  it  came  to  meeting  threats  of  war  and  disastrous  disturbances  of  trade. 

It  was  under  such  circumstances  that  the  presidential  campaign  of  1852 
occurred.  The  Democratic  convention  met  in  Baltimore  on  June  i,  1852. 
The  leading  candidates  for  the  nomination  were  Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan, 
James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  of  Illinois  ; but 
the  rule  of  Democratic  conventions  which  made  a two-thirds  vote  necessary 
for  the  choice  of  a candidate,  rendered  it  impossible,  as  it  turned  out,  to 
nominate  any  one  of  these  gentlemen.  The  convention,  therefore,  turned 
by  a sudden  impulse  to  a younger  and  comparatively  unknown  man,  and 
nominated  Franklin  Pierce  of  New  Hampshire.  Mr.  Pierce  was  a handsome 
and  prepossessing  man  of  forty-eight,  who  had  served  his  State  both  in  her 
own  legislature  and  in  Congress,  and  who  had  engaged  in  the  Mexican  War,, 
with  the  rank  of  brigadier  general ; but  in  none  of  these  positions  had  he 
won  distinction  for  an^^thing  so  much  as  for  a certain  grace  and  candor  of 
bearing.  The  Whig  delegates,  who  met  in  convention  in  the  same  city  on 
June  16,  put  aside  the  statesmen  of  their  party,  as  so  often  before,  and 
nominated  General  Winfield  Scott. 

The  platforms  were  significant  of  the  critical  state  of  politics.  Both 
Whigs  and  Democrats  added  to  their  usual  declaration  of  principles  anxious 
asseverations  of  their  entire  satisfaction  with  the  compromise  measures. 
The  Democrats  went  even  further.  They  declared  that  they  would  “ faith- 
fully abide  by  and  uphold  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  Kentucky  and 
Virginia  Resolutions  of  1798  and  1799,  and  the  report  of  Mr.  Madison  of 
the  Virginia  Legislature  in  1799” — adopting  those  principles  “as  constitut- 
ing one  of  the  main  foundations  of  their  political  creed,”  and  resolving  to 
carry  them  out  in  their  obvious  meaning  and  import.  But  the  principles 
of  opposition  which  the  two  great  national  parties  so  much  dreaded  were 
spoken  with  great  plainness  by  the  Free  Soil  Convention,  which  met  at 
Pittsburg,  August  ii.  This  party  repeated  its  utterance  of  1848,  pro- 
nounced tlie  Fugitive  Slave  Law  repugnant  both  to  the  principles  of  law 
and  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  and  announced  its  programme  to  be : “No 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


215 


more  slave  States,  no  more  slave  Territories,  no  nationalized  slavery,  and 
no  national  legislation  for  the  extradition  of  slaves.”  The  Free  Soilers  did 
not  command  the  same  strength  that  they  had  mustered  in  1848,  for  the 
country  was  trying  to  rest ; but  scores  of  Whigs,  not  yet  prepared  to  vote 
with  this  third  party,  were  greatly  repelled  both  by  the  military  candidate 
of  their  party  and  by  its  slavish  acquiescence  in  the  distasteful  compromise 
of  1850.  The  Democrats,  on  the  other  hand,  were  satisfied  both  with  their 
party  and  their  candidate,  and  the  election  was  to  bring  them  an  overwhelm- 
ing triumph. 

Before  the  end  of  the  campaign  both  Mr.  Cla}^  and  Mr.  Webster  were 
dead.  Mr.  Clay  was  on  his  death-bed  when  the  Whig  convention  met.  He 
died  on  the  29th  of  June,  1852.  Mr.  Webster  followed  him  on  the  23d  of 
October.  The  great  leaders  of  the  past  were  gone  ; the  future  was  for  new 
men  and  new  parties.  Although  his  popular  niajorit}^  was  small  in  the 
aggregate  vote  Mr.  Pierce  carried  every  State  except  four  (Vermont,  jMassa- 
chusetts,  Tennessee,  and  Kentucky),  and  received  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
four  electoral  votes  to  General  Scott’s  forty-two.  At  the  same  time  the 
Democratic  majority  in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  increased  by 
thirty-seven,  in  the  Senate  by  six.  Before  another  presidential  election 
came  around  the  Whig  party  had  practically  been  ousted  from  its  place  of 
national  importance  by  the  Republicans,  the  great  fusion  party  of  the 
opponents  of  the  extension  of  slavery.  In  the  meantime  a most  singular 
party  pressed  forward  as  a candidate  for  the  vacant  place.  This  was  the 
party  which  called  itself  “ American,”  but  which  its  opponents  dubbed  the 
“ Know-Nothing  ” party.  Once  and  again  there  had  been  strong  efforts 
made  in  various  parts  of  the  countiy  against  the  influence  of  foreigners  in 
our  politics.  As  immigration  increased  these  movements  naturally  became 
more  frequent  and  more  pronounced.  They  were  most  pronounced,  too,  in 
the  cities  of  the  eastern  seaboard,  into  which  immigration  poured  its  first 
streams,  and  where  it  left  its  most  unsavory  deposits,  where,  consequently,, 
municipal  misrule  was  constantly  threatening  its  worst  consequences  of 
corruption  and  disorder.  In  1844  “ native  ” majorities  had  carried  the  cities 
of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  and  had  sent  from  those  cities  several  rep- 
resentatives to  Congress.  For  a short  time  after  that  date  the  feeling  dis- 
appeared again,  but  about  1852  it  was  revived  for  its  final  run  for  success. 
The  revolutionary  movements  of  1848-1850  in  Europe  caused  a sudden  in- 
crease in  the  immigration  of  disappointed  and  turbulent  men,  apt  and 
ambitious  in  political  agitation.  A secret  order  was  formed  whose  motto 
was  : “ Americans  must  rule  America.”  From  it  emanated  counsels  which, 


21G 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


commanding  the  votes  in  many  places  of  active  and  united  minorities,  not 
infrequently  determined  the  results  of  local  elections.  The  order  had  its 
hierarchy ; only  those  who  attained  to  its  highest  ranks  were  inducted  into 
its  most  sacred  mysteries  ; and  it  was  the  constant  profession  of  entire 
ignorance  of  its  secrets  by  members  of  the  order  that  gave  them  their  pop- 
ular name  of  ‘‘  Know-Nothings.”  A singular  opportunit}^  for  political  im- 
portance was  presently  to  come  to  this  party. 

In  the  summer  of  1852  appeared  a new  engine  of  anti-slavery  senti- 
ment, Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe’s  powerfully  written  novel,  “ Uncle  Tom’s 
Cabin,”  with  its  moving  imaginative  portrayal  of  the  pathos,  the  humor,  the 
tragedy,  the  terror  of  the  slavery  system.  While  it  unquestionably  showed 
what  might  come  out  of  the  system,  it  was  built  upon  wholly  exceptional  inci- 
dents. It  was  a product  of  the  sympathetic  imagination,  which  the  historian 
must  reject  as  quite  misleading,  but  it  nevertheless  stirred  to  their  pro- 
foundest  depths  thousands  of  minds  in  the  North  which  the  politician  might 
never  have  reached  with  his  protests  against  the  extension  of  slavery.  It 
was  a subtle  instrument  of  power,  and  played  no  small  part  in  creating  the 
anti- slavery  part\q  which  was  presently  to  show  its  strength  upon  so  great 
a scale  in  national  politics. 

All  the  while  the  industrial  development  of  the  country  went  on  as  if 
there  were  no  politics.  From  May  to  October,  1851,  the  world  attended 
England’s  great  international  industrial  exhibition,  which  the  noble  Prince 
Consort  had  so  humanely  planned  in  the  interest  of  universal  peace.  The 
foreign  trade  of  the  United  States  grew  in  volume,  receiving  its  impulse  in 
part,  of  course,  from  the  great  gold  discoveries  in  California.  A transcon- 
tinental railway  was  spoken  of.  The  population,  while  it  became  more  and 
more  dense,  grew  also  more  and  more  heterogeneous.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  Chinese  first  appeared  in  strong  numbers  upon  the  Pacific  coast,  bring- 
ing with  them  a new  and  agitating  social  problem.  The  year  1851  saw  the 
first  State  law  prohibiting  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors 
come  into  operation  in  Maine — a provocation  to  similar  experiments  else- 
where. In  the  autumn  of  1851  the  country  welcomed  Louis  Kossuth,  the 
exiled  Hungarian  patriot,  heard  his  engaging  eloquence  with  a novel  rap- 
ture, and  accorded  him  the  hearty  sympathies  of  a free  people. 

The  Democratic  Congress,  elected  with  Pierce,  met  December  5,  1853, 
and  easily  effected  an  organization.  The  President’s  Message  assured  the 
country  of  Mr.  Pierce’s  loyal  adherence  to  the  compromise  of  1850,  and  of 
the  continued  reign  throughout  the  countr}^  of  that  peace  and  tranquillity 
which  had  marked  the  quiet  close  of  his  predecessor’s  term.  But  imme- 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


217 


diately  after  Christmas,  on  January  4,  1854,  Mr.  Stephen  A.  Douglas  intro- 
duced into  the  Senate,  as  chairman  of  the  organization  of  the  Territory  of 
Nebraska,  what  was  destined  to  destroy  at  once  all  hope  of  tranquillity. 
The  region  stretching  beyond  Missouri  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  then 
called  the  “ Platte  Country,”  which  this  bill  proposed  to  organize  as  a terri- 
tory, was  crossed  by  the  direct  overland  route  to  the  Pacific.  Mr.  Douglas 
had  been  trying  ever  since  1843,  when  he  was  a member  of  the  House,  to 
secure  the  consent  of  Congress  to  its  erection  into  a Territor}^  in  order  to 
prevent  its  being  closed  to  settlement  and  travel  by  treaties  with  the  Indian 
tribes,  which  might  otherwise  convert  it  into  an  Indian  reserve.  The  Senate 
differed  from  the  Committee  on  Territories,  however,  in  one  radical  feature 
from  all  former  proposals.  The  Platte  Country  lay  wholly  within  the 
Louisiana  purchase,  and  all  of  it  that  was  to  be  affected  by  this  legislation 
lay  north  of  the  Missouri  compromise  line,  36°  30',  which  had  been  run 
across  that  purchase  in  1820.  All  previous  proposals,  therefore,  for  the 
erection  of  a Territory  there  had  taken  it  for  granted  that  slaver}^  had  once  for 
all  been  excluded  by  the  action  taken  when  Missouri  was  admitted.  This 
latest  bill,  however,  expressly  provided  that  any  State  or  States  subsequently 
made  up  out  of  the  new  Territory  should  exercise  their  own  choice  in  the  matter. 
This  was  simply  following  the  precedent  set  in  the  organization  of  the  Ter- 
ritories of  Utah  and  New  Mexico  four  years  before  ; and  in  the  opinion  of 
Mr.  Douglas  a strict  adherence  to  the  principles  of  that  precedent  was  dic- 
tated by  “ a proper  sense  of  patriotic  duty.”  The  measure  was  at  once 
attacked  by  amendment,  and  in  order  to  avoid  a tinkering  of  their  bill  in 
open  Senate,  the  Committee  secured  it  recommitment.  In  January  they 
produced  a substitute  measure,  which  proposed  the  creation,  not  of  a single 
Territory,  but  of  two  Territories,  one  of  which  should  embrace  the  lands 
lying  between  latitudes  37°  and  40°,  and  be  known  as  Kansas  ; the  other, 
those  lying  between  latitudes  40°  and  43°  30',  and  be  known  as  Nebraska. 
The  bill  further  provided  that  all  laws  of  the  United  States  should  be  ex- 
tended to  these  Territories,  except  the  eighth  section  of  the  Act  preparatory 
to  the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the  Union,  approved  March  6,  1820  (the 
“compromise”  section),  which,  being  inconsistent  with  the  principles  of 
non-intervention  by  Congress  with  slavery  in  the  States  and  Territories,  as 
recognized  b}^  the  legislation  of  1850,  commonly  called  the  compromise 
measure,  is  hereby  deelared  inoperative  and  void.”  It  was  declared  to  be  the 
“true  intent  and  meaning”  of  the  Act,  “ not  to  legislate  slavery  into  any 
Territory  or  State,  nor  to  exclude  it  therefrom  , but  to  leave  the  people 
thereof  free  to  form  and  regulate  their  domestic  institutions  in  their  own 


218 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


way,  subject  only  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.”  Finally,  it 
was  provided  that  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  should  extend  to  the  Territories. 
No  bolder  or  more  extraordinary  measure  had  ever  been  proposed  in  Con- 
gress. 

The  act  sowed  the  wind  ; the  whirlwind  was  not  long  in  coming.  The 
compromise  measures  of  1850  had,  of  course,  affected  only  the  Territories 
acquired  from  Mexico ; no  one  till  now  had  dreamed  that  they  reacted  to 
the  destruction  of  the  compromise  of  1820 — a measure  which  applied  to 
a region  quite  distinct,  and  which  was  now  more  than  thirty  years  deep  in 
our  politics.  To  the  North,  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Act  seemed  the  very 
extravagance  of  aggression  on  the  part  of  the  slave  interest,  the  very  re- 
finement of  bad  faith,  and  a violation  of  the  most  solemn  guarantees  of 
policy.  The  bill,  moreover,  contained  a fatal  ambiguity. 

When  and  in  what  manner  were  the  squatter  sovereigns  of  Kansas  and 
Nebraska  to  make  their  choice  with  regard  to  slavery  ? Now,  during  the 
period  of  settlement,  and  while  the  districts  were  still  Territories,  or  after- 
ward, when  ready  for  statehood  and  about  to  frame  their  constitutions  ? 
No  prohibition  was  put  upon  the  territorial  Legislatures  of  Kansas  and 
Nebraska  ; were  they  at  liberty  to  proceed  to  make  their  choice  at  once  ? 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  intention  of  the  framers  of  die  law,  purpose- 
ful action  in  the  matter  did  begin  at  once  and  fiercely,  hurrying  presently  to 
the  length  of  civil  war.  Both  from  the  North  and  South  an  organized  move- 
ment was  made  to  secure  the  Territory  of  Kansas  by  immediate  settlement. 
The  settlers  who  were  in  the  slave  interest  came  first,  pouring  in  from  Mis- 
souri. Then  came  bands  of  settlers  from  the  free  States,  sent  or  assisted 
by  emigration  aid  societies.  The  Missouri  men  hastened  to  effect  a terri- 
torial organization  ; carried  the  elections  to  the  territorial  Legislature — when 
necessary  by  the  open  use  of  voters  from  Missouri  at  the  polls ; and 
the  pro-slavery  Legislature  which  they  had  chosen  met  and  adopted,  in 
addition  to  the  laws  of  Missouri  in  bulk,  a stringent  penal  code 
directed  against  all  interferences  with  the  institution  of  slavery.  The  free 
settlers  attempted  to  ignore  the  Government  thus  organized,  on  the  ground 
of  its  fraudulent  nature.  They  met  in  convention  at  Topeka,  October,  1855, 
adopted  a free  constitution  for  themselves,  and  ventured,  in  January,  1856, 
to  set  up  a Government  of  their  own.  But  the  legal  advantage  was  with  the 
other  side  ; whether  fraudulently  established  or  not,  the  pro-slaver3^  Govern- 
ment had  at  any  rate  been  set  up  under  the  forms  of  law,  and  the  Federal 
Government  interfered  in  its  behalf.  As  the  struggle  advanced,  free  settlers 
came  in  greater  and  greater  numbers,  and  came  armed,  after  the  example 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


219 


of  their  Missouri  rivals.  Actual  warfare  ensued,  and  the  interposition  of 
Federal  troops  became  necessary.  At  last,  in  October,  1857,  the  free  settlers 
gained  control  at  the  polls  of  the  legitimate  Legislature  of  the  Territory,  and 
the  game  was  lost  for  slavery.  A constitution  was  adopted  without  slavery, 
and  with  that  constitution  the  Territories  sought  admission  to  the  Union 
as  a State. 

In  July,  1856,  the  House  of  Representatives  had  passed  a bill  for  the 
admission  of  Kansas  as  a State,  under  the  constitution  adopted  by  the  free 
settlers  at  Topeka,  but  the  Senate  had  rejected  it.  The  majority  which  put 
the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  through  the  House  in  1854  was  destroyed  in  the 
elections  of  the  same  year.  All  “ Anti-Nebraska  ” men  drew  away  from 
the  old  parties.  Most  of  these,  however,  were  Whigs,  and  had  no  taste  for 
the  companionships  which  would  be  thrust  upon  them  should  they  enter 
the  Free  Soil  party.  In  this  dilemma  they  took  refuge  with  the  “ Know- 
Nothings,”  who  volunteered,  with  reference  to  the  slavery  question,  to  be 
Do-Nothings.  A desperate  attempt  was  made  to  create  a diversion,  and  by 
sheer  dint  of  will  to  forget  the  slavery  question  altogether.  Southern 
Whigs  for  a time  retained  their  party  name,  and  tried  to  maintain  also  their 
party  organization ; but  even  in  the  South  the  “ Know-Nothings  ” were 
numerously  joined,  and  for  a brief  space  it  looked  as  if  they  were  about  to 
become  in  fact  a national  party.  In  the  elections  of  1854  the}^  succeeded 
in  electing,  not  onl}^  a considerable  number  of  Congressmen,  but  also  their 
candidates  for  the  Governorship  in  Massachusetts  and  Delaware.  Before 
the  new  House  met,  in  December,  1855,  the  “ Know-Nothings’’  had  carried 
New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
Kentucky,  and  California,  and  had  polled  handsome  votes,  which  fell  very 
little  short  of  being  majorities,  in  six  of  the  Southern  States. 

What  with  Anti-Nebraska  men  and  Free  Soilers,  Democrats,  Southern 
pro-slavery  Whigs,  and  ‘‘  Know-Nothings,”  the  House  of  Representatives 
which  met  December  3,  1855,  presented  an  almost  hopeless  mixture  and 
confusion  of  party  names  and  purposes.  It  spent  two  months  in  electing 
a Speaker.  Within  a 3^ear,  however,  the  fusion  party,  temporarily  known 
in  Congress  as  Anti-Nebraska  men,  drew  together  in  coherent  organization 
under  the  name  of  “ Republican.”  Groups  of  its  adherents  had  adopted 
that  name  in  the  spring  of  1854,  when  hrst  concerting  opposition  to  the 
policy  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill.  Within  the  first  year  of  its  existence 
it  obtained  popular  majorities  in  fifteen  States,  elected,  or  won  over  to  itself, 
one  hundred  and  seventeen  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
secured  eleven  adherents  in  the  Senate. 


220 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


Only  four  or  five  months  before  the  adoption  of  the  Kaiisas-Nebraska 
Act  a new  region  had  been  purchased  from  Mexico.  The  treaty  of  Guada- 
lupe-Hidalgo  had  not  satisfied  Mexico  with  regard  to  the  definition  of  the 
southern  boundaries  of  the  Territories  which  she  had  surrendered  to  the 
United  States  on  the  Pacific  coast.  She  still  claimed  a considerable  region 
south  of  the  Gila  River,  which  crosses  the  southern  portion  of  the  present 
Territory  of  Arizona.  Santa  i\nna  even  led  an  army  into  the  disputed 
district,  and  made  threat  of  a renewal  of  war.  Hostilities  were  averted, 
however,  by  a new  purchase.  Acting  through  Mr.  Gadsden,  the  Federal 
Government  agreed,  December  30,  1853,  to  pay  Mexico  ten  million  dollars 
for  the  something  more  than  forty-five  thousand  square  miles  of  territory 
in  controversy,  and  the  southwestern  boundary  was  at  last  finally  fixed. 

This  was  the  addition  also  of  new  territory  in  the  region  most  likely  to 
be  occupied  by  slavery ; and,  apparently,  annexations  in  the  interest  of 
slavery  were  not  to  end  there.  There  seemed  to  be  a growing  desire  on  the 
part  of  the  South  to  see  Cuba  wrested  from  Spain,  and  added  as  new  slave 
territory  to  the  United  States.  Some  of  the  more  indiscreet  and  daring  of 
the  Southern  politicians  even  became  involved  in  attempts  to  seize  Cuba  and 
effect  a revolutionary  expulsion  of  the  Spanish  power.  In  1854,  under 
pressure  of  the  Southern  party,  Mr.  Pierce  directed  the  American  Ministers 
to  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Spain  (James  Buchanan,  John  T.  Mason,  and 
Pierre  Soule)  to  meet  and  discuss  the  Cuban  question.  The  result  was  the 
“ Ostend  Manifesto  ” of  October  18,  1854,  which  gave  deep  offense  to  the 
Free  Soil  party.  Meeting  at  Ostend,  these  gentlemen  agreed  to  report  to 
their  Government  that  in  their  opinion  the  acquisition  of  Cuba  would  be 
advantageous  to  the  United  States  ; and  that  if  Spain  refused  to  sell  it,  the 
United  States  would  be  justified  in  wresting  it  from  her,  rather  than  see  it 
Africanized,  as  San  Domingo  had  been.  Expeditions,  too,  were  organized 
by  a few  Southern  men  against  Central  America,  and  repeated,  though 
futile,  attempts  made  to  gain  new  territory  to  the  south  of  Texas.  The  men 
who  engaged  in  these  mad  attempts  at  conquest  acted  without  organized 
support  or  responsible  recognition  by  any  Southern  Government ; but  the 
North  regarded  their  actions,  nevertheless,  as  symptomatic  of  the  most 
alarming  tendencies,  the  most  revolutionary  purposes.  The  South,  on  its 
part,  presently  saw  the  contest  for  supremacy  in  Kansas  turn  overwhelm- 
ingly against  the  slave  owners  ; saw  free  Territories  rapidly  preparing  to 
become  free  States  ; saw  fast  approaching  the  destruction  of  the  sectional 
equilibrium  of  the  Senate.  Parties  formed  and  planned  accordingly. 

The  Presidential  campaign  of  1856  was  a four-cornered  contest.  The 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  I VAR 


221 


first  party  to  prepare  a platform  and  put  forward  eaiididates  was  the  Ameri- 
can, or  “ Know-Nothings,”  whose  eonvention  assembled  Februar}^  22, 1856,  in 
Philadelphia.  It  nominated  for  President  j\Ir.  P'illmore,  and  in  its  platform 
it  repeated  those  declarations  in  favor  of  restricting  the  privileges  of  for- 
eigners, and  of  respecting  the  Constitution  and  the  reserved  rights  of  the 
States,  b}^  which  it  thought  to  divert  attention  from  slavery  and  secure 
peace.  But  a minority  of  the  members  withdrew  even  from  this  peace- 
loving  convention,  because  they  could  not  obtain  a satisfactory  utterance  on 
the  slavery  question. 

The  Democratic  convention  met  in  Cincinnati  on  the  2d  of  June.  The 
party,  in  spite  of  some  serious  breaks  in  its  ranks,  still  substantially  pre- 
served its  integrity.  The  Southern  delegates  wished  the  renomination  of  Mr. 
Pierce ; moderate  Northern  men  preferred  Mr.  Buchanan,  wdio,  because  of 
his  absence  on  a foreign  mission,  had  not  been  obliged  to  take  public 
ground  on  the  territorial  question  ; some  desired  the  nomination  of  Mr. 
Douglas.  On  the  seventeenth  ballot  Mr.  Buchanan  was  nominated.  Mr, 
John  C.  Breckenridge,  of  Kentucky,  who  represented  the  slave-holding 
Southern  element,  was  named  for  the  Vice-President. 

The  Republican  party  held  its  first  national  convention  in  Philadelphia 
on  the  17th  of  June.  All  the  Northern  States  were  represented,  but  no 
other  except  Maryland,  Delaware,  and  Kentucky.  The  party  was  as  yet 
too  young  to  have  produced  tried  and  accredited  leaders.  It  therefore  put 
forward  as  its  candidate  for  the  Presidency  John  C.  Fremont,  a young  officer 
who  had  aided  in  the  conquest  of  California.  A remnant  of  the  Whig 
party  met  in  Baltimore  on  September  17  and  accepted  Mr.  Fillmore,  the 
nominee  of  the  “ Know-Nothings,”  as  their  candidate,  declaring  that  the}^ 
saw  in  such  a choice  the  only  refuge  for  those  who  loved  the  Constitution 
as  it  was,  and  the  compromise  by  which  it  had  recently  been  bolstered  up. 
The  Democratic  candidates  were  elected.  The  vote  of  the  Republicans 
had  been  1,341,264,  while  that  for  Buchanan  was  only  1,838,169.  The^^ 
carried  every  Northern  State  but  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Indiana,  and 
Illinois,  and  had  gained  portentous  strength  even  in  those  States — a great 
gain. 

A widespread  financial  stringency  distressed  the  country  during  the 
first  year  of  Mr.  Buchanan’s  Administration.  Ever  since  1846  there  had 
been  very  great  prosperity  in  almost  all  branches  of  trade  and  manufacture. 
Great  advances  had  been  made  in  the  mechanic  arts,  and  easy  channels, 
both  of  domestic  and  of  international  trade,  had  been  multiplied  in  every 
direction  by  the  rapid  extension  of  railways  and  of  steam  navigation,  so 


222 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


that  the  stimulus  of  enterprise,  along  with  the  quickening  influences  of  the 
great  gold  discoveries,  had  been  transmitted  in  all  directions.  But  this 
period  of  prosperity  and  expansion,  like  all  others  of  its  kind,  brought  its 
own  risks  and  penalties.  Sound  business  methods  presently  gave  way  to 
reckless  speculation.  There  was  an  excessive  expansion  of  business  ; 
many  enterprises  were  started  which  did  not  fulfill  their  first  promise  \ 
there  were  heavy  losses  as  well  as  great  gains,  and  at  last  there  came  un- 
easiness, the  contraction  of  loans,  failures,  and  panic. 

A brief  struggle  brought  the  business  of  the  country  out  of  its  diffi- 
culties ; but  the  strain  of  politics  was  not  so  soon  removed,  and  a decision 
of  the  Supreme  Court  now  hurried  the  country  forward  toward  the 
infinitely  greater  crisis  of  civil  war.  Dred  Scott  was  the  negro  slave  of  an 
army  surgeon.  His  master  had  taken  him,  in  the  regular  course  of  mili- 
tary service,  from  Missouri,  his  home,  first  into  the  State  of  Illinois,  and 
then,  in  May,  1836,  to  Fort  Snelling,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  in 
what  is  now  Minnesota;  after  which,  in  1838,  he  had  returned  with  him  to 
Missouri.  Slavery  was  prohibited  by  State  law  in  Illinois  and  by  the 
Missouri  Compromise  Act  of  1820  in  the  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi; 
and  after  returning  to  Missouri  the  negro  endeavored  to  obtain  his  liberty 
by  an  appeal  to  the  courts,  on  the  ground  that  his  residence  in  a free  State 
had  operated  to  destroy  his  master’s  rights  over  him.  In  course  of  appeal 
the  case  reached  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  The  chief,  if  not 
the  only,  question  at  issue  was  a question  of  jurisdiction.  Was  Dred  Scott 
a citizen  within  the  meaning  of  the  Constitution  ; had  he  had  any  rightful 
standing  in  the  lower  courts  ? To  this  question  the  court  returned  a 
decided  negative.  The  temporary  residence  of  the  negro’s  master  in  Illinois 
and  Minnesota,  in  the  course  of  his  official  duty  and  without  any  intention 
to  change  his  domicile,  could  not  affect  the  status  of  the  slave,  at  aii}^  rate 
after  his  return  to  Missouri.  He  was  not  a citizen  of  Missouri  in  the  con- 
stitutional sense  and  could  have,  therefore,  no  standing  in  the  Federal  courts. 
But,  this  question  decided,  the  majority  of  the  judges  did  not  think  it  obiter 
diceiis  to  go  further  and  argue  to  the  merits  of  the  case  regarding  the  status 
of  slaves  and  the  authority  of  Congress  over  slavery  in  the  Territories. 
They  were  of  the  opinion  that,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  Constitu- 
tion spoke  of  slaves  as  “ persons  held  to  service  and  labor,”  men  of  the 
African  race,  in  view  of  the  fact  of  their  bondage  from  the  first  in  this 
country,  were  not  regarded  as  persons,  but  onl}^  as  property,  by  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  vStates ; that  as  property  they  were  protected  from 
hostile  legislation  on  the  part  of  Congress  by  the  express  guarantees  of  the 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


223 


Constitution  itself,  and  that  Congress  could  no  more  legislate  this  form  of 
property  out  of  the  Territories  than  it  could  exclude  property  of  any  other 
kind,  but  must  guarantee  to  every  citizen  the  right  to  carry  this  as  he 
might  cany  all  other  forms  of  property  where  he  would  within  the  territory 
subject  to  Congress.  The  legislation,  therefore,  known  as  the  Alissouri 
Compromise  was,  in  their  judgment,  unconstitutional  and  void.  The  opinion 
of  the  court  sustained  the  whole  Southern  claim.  Not  even  the  exercise  of 
the  squatter  sovereignty  could  have  the  countenance  of  law  ; Congress  must 
protect  every  citizen  of  the  countiy  in  cariying  with  him  into  the  Terri- 
tories property  of  whatever  kind,  until  such  time  as  the  Territory  in  which 
he  settled  should  become  a State  and  pass  beyond  the  direct  jurisdiction  of 
the  Federal  Government.  Those  who  were  seeking  to  prevent  the  exten- 
sion of  slavery  into  the  Territories  were  thus  stigmatized  as  seeking  an 
illegal  object  and  acting  in  despite  of  the  Constitution. 

For  the  Republicans  the  decision  was  like  a blow  in  the  face.  And 
their  uneasiness  and  alarm  were  the  greater  because  the  new  Administration 
seemed  wholly  committed  to  the  Southern  party.  Mr.  Buchanan  had  called 
into  his  Cabinet  both  Northern  and  Southern  men  ; the  list  was  headed  by 
Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan,  as  Secretary  of  State,  a sturdy  Democrat  of  the 
old  Jacksonian  type.  But  the  President  was  guided  for  the  most  part  by 
the  counsel  of  the  Southern  members — men  like  Howell  Cobb,  of  Georgia, 
and  Jacob  Thompson,  of  Mississippi.  It  was  natural  that  he  should  be. 
Only  two  Northern  States,  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey,  had  been  carried 
for  Buchanan  in  1856,  and  only  two  States  of  the  Northwest,  Indiana  and 
Illinois.  The  chief  strength  of  the  Democrats  was  in  the  South ; and  ap- 
parently it  was  upon  the  South  that  they  must  depend  in  the  immediate 
future.  The  course  of  the  Administration,  as  an  inevitable  consequence, 
was  one  of  constant  exasperation  to  its  opponents,  particularly  in  connec- 
tion with  the  affairs  of  Kansas.  The  free  settlers  of  Kansas  gained  control 
of  the  territorial  Legislature,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  October  of  this  first 
year  of  Mr.  Buchanan’s  term  ; but  before  resigning  its  power,  the  expiring 
pro-slavery  majority  had  called  a convention,  to  meet  at  Lecompton  in  Sep- 
tember, to  frame  a State  constitution.  The  convention  met  accordingly, 
and  adopted  (October  7)  a constitution  which  provided  for  the  establishment 
and  perpetuation  of  slavery.  The  convention  determined  not  to  submit  this 
constitution  as  a whole  to  the  popular  vote,  but  only  the  question  of  its 
adoption  “ with  slaver}^  ” or  “ without  slavery  ” — a process  which  would 
not  touch  any  other  feature  of  the  instrument  nor  affect  the  various  safe- 
guards which  it  sought  to  throw  around  slave  property  so  far  as  it  already 


224 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


existed.  The  free  settlers  refrained  from  voting,  and  the  constitution  was, 
in  December,  adopted  with  slavery  by  a large  majority.  The  new  terri- 
torial Legislature,  with  its  free-state  majority,  directed  the  submission  of  the 
whole  constitutimi  to  the  vote  of  the  people ; and  on  January  4,  1858,  it  was 
defeated  by  more  than  ten  thousand  majority,  the  pro-slavery  voters,  in 
their  turn,  staying  away  from  the  polls.  The  whole  influence  of  the  Ad- 
ministration was  brought  to  bear  upon  Congress  to  secure  the  admission  of 
Kansas  to  the  Union  under  the  Lecompton  constitution ; but  although 
there  were  Democratic  majorities  in  both  Houses,  the  measure  could  not  be 
gotten  through  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  opposition  in  the 
Democratic  ranks  was  led  by  Senator  Douglas,  who  adhered  so  consistently 
to  his  principle  of  popular  sovereignt}^  that  he  would  not  consent  to  force 
any  constitution  upon  the  people  of  Kansas.  Compromise  was  tried,  but 
failed.  Kansas  was  obliged  to  wait  upon  the  fortunes  of  parties.  While 
she  waited  the  free  State  of  Minnesota  entered  the  Union,  May  ii,  1858, 
under  an  enabling  act  passed  by  the  previous  Congress  in  February,  1857. 

The  elections  of  1858  showed  a formidable  gain  in  strength  by  the 
Republicans,  and  bore  an  ominous  warning  for  the  Democrats.  Douglas 
himself  was  returned  with  difficulty  to  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  and  his 
canvass  for  re-election  had  arrested  the  attention  of  the  whole  country.  The 
Republicans  of  Illinois  had  formally  announced  that  their  candidate  for  the 
Senate  would  be  Abraham  Lincoln,  a man  whose  extraordinary  native 
sagacity,  insight,  and  capacity  for  debate  had  slowly  won  for  him  great 
prominence  in  the  State,  first  as  a Whig,  afterward  as  an  Anti-Nebraska 
man  and  Republican.  Lincoln  and  Douglas  “ took  the  stump  ” together, 
and  the  great  debates  between  them  which  ensued  both  won  for  Lincoln  a 
national  reputation  and  defined  the  issues  of  the  party  struggle  as  perhaps 
nothing  less  dramatic  could  have  defined  them.  In  Lincoln’s  mind  those 
issues  were  clear-cut  enough.  “ A house  divided  against  itself,”  he  de- 
clared, “ cannot  stand.  I believe  this  Government  cannot  endure  half  slave 
and  half  free.  I do  not  expect  the  house  to  fall,  but  I expect  it  will  cease 
to  be  divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all  the  other.”  He  forced 
Douglas  upon  the  dilemma  created  for  him  by  the  Dred  Scott  decision. 
What  became  of  the  doctrine  of  popular  sovereignty  if  the  people  of  the 
Territories  could  not  interfere  with  slavery  until  they  came  to  frame  a 
State  constitution  ? Slavery  could  not  exist,  replied  Douglas,  without  local 
legislation  to  sustain  it ; unfriendly  legislation  would  hamper  and  kill  it 
almost  as  effectually  as  positive  prohibition. 

An  inferior  legislature  certainly  cannot  do  what  it  is  not  within  the 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR 


225 


power  of  Congress  to  accomplish,  was  Lincoln’s  rejoinder.  The  State  elec- 
tions went  for  the  Democrats,  and  Mr.  Douglas  was  returned  to  the  Senate; 
but  Lincoln  had  made  him  an  impossible  presidential  candidate  for  the 
Southern  Democrats  in  i860  b}^  forcing  him  to  deny  to  the  South  the  full 
benefits  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision.  The  disclosures  of  policy  made  by  the 
Executive  to  Congress  during  the  next  winter  still  further  intensified  party 
issues.  Mr.  Buchanan’s  message  of  December  6,  urged  territorial  expan- 
sion in  good  set  terms  ; the  conntiy  ought  by  some  means  to  obtain  pos- 
session of  Cuba;  ought  to  assume  a protectorate  over  those  pieces  of  the 
dissolving  Mexican  republic  which  lay  nearest  her  own  borders  ; ought  to 
make  good  her  rights  upon  the  Isthmus  against  Nicaragua  and  Costa  Rica. 
The  impression  gained  ground  that  the  South  was  urging  the  President  on 
towards  great  acquisitions  of  slave  territory.  Again  and  again,  until  the 
very  eve  of  the  assembling  of  the  Democratic  nominating  convention  in 
i860,  did  the  President  urge  this  extraordinaiy  policy  upon  Congress, 
greatly  deepening,  the  wdiile,  the  alarm  and  repugnance  of  the  North. 

The  year  1859  witnessed  a perilous  incident  in  the  struggle  against 
slavery,  \rhich  stirred  the  South  with  a profound  agitation.  In  1855  John 
Brown,  a native  of  Connecticut,  moved  from  Ohio  into  Kansas,  accompanied 
by  his  four  sons.  Brown  possessed  a nature  at  once  rugged  and  intense, 
acknowledging  no  authority  but  that  of  his  own  obstinate  wdll,  following  no 
guidance  but  that  of  his  own  conceptions  of  right, — conceptions  fanatical 
almost  to  the  point  of  madness.  His  only  intention  in  entering  Kansas 
was  to  throw  himself  and  his  sons  into  the  struggle  going  forward  there 
against  slaveiy  ; and  he  w^as  quick  to  take  a foremost  part  in  the  most 
lawless  and  bloody  enterprises  of  his  party,  going  even  to  the  length  of 
massacre  and  the  forcible  liberation  of  slaves.  It  was  not  long  before  he 
had  earned  outlawry  and  had  had  a price  set  upon  his  head  by  the  govern- 
ment. In  January,  1859,  he  left  Kansas,  and  in  July  settled  near  Harper’s 
Ferry,  Virginia,  with  the  mad  purpose  of  effecting,  if  possible,  a forcible 
liberation  of  the  slaves  of  the  South,  by  provoking  a general  insurrection. 
On  the  night  of  Sunday,  October  17,  at  the  head  of  less  than  twenty  fol- 
lowers, he  seized  the  United  States  arsenal  at  Harper’s  Ferry,  and  hastened 
to  free  as  many  negroes  and  arrest  as  many  wdiite  men  as  possible  before 
making  good  his  retreat,  with  an  augmented  following,  as  he  hoped,  to  the 
mountains.  Caught,  before  he  could  withdraw,  by  the  arrival  of  a large 
force  of  militia,  he  was  taken,  with  such  of  his  little  band  as  had  survived 
the  attempt  to  stand  siege  in  the  arsenal.  A speed}^  trial  followed,  and  the 
inevitable  death  penalty  on  December  2.  His  plan  had  been  one  of  the 

15 


226 


JUST  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  JVIR 


maddest  folly,  but  his  end  was  one  of  singular  dignity.  He  endured  trial 
and  execution  with  manly,  even  with  Christian  fortitude. 

The  South  was  shaken  by  the  profoundest  emotion.  A slave  insurrec- 
tion was  the  most  hideous  danger  that  Southern  homes  had  to  fear.  It 
meant  massacre  and  arson,  and  for  the  women  a fate  worse  than  any  form 
of  death  or  desolation.  Southerners  did  not  discriminate  carefully  between 
the  different  classes  of  anti-slavery  men  in  the  North ; to  the  Southern 
thought  they  were  all  practically  Abolitionists,  and  Abolitionists  had  uttered 
hot  words  which  could  surely  have  no  other  purpose  than  to  incite  the  slaves 
to  insurrection.  It  was  found  upon  investigation  that  Brown  had  obtained 
arms  and  money  in  the  North,  and  although  it  was  proved  also  that  those  who 
had  aided  him  had  no  intimation  of  his  designs  against  the  South,  but  sup- 
posed that  he  was  to  use  what  they  gave  him  in  Kansas,  the  impression  was 
deepened  at  the  South  that  this  worst  form  of  violence  had  at  any  rate  the 
virtual  moral  countenance  of  the  Northern  opponents  of  slavery.  It  was 
not  eas}^,  after  this,  for  the  South  to  judge  dispassionately  any  movement  of 
politics.  Already  some  Southern  men  had  made  bold  to  demand  that  Con- 
gress, in  obedience  to  the  Dred  vScott  decision,  should  afford  positive  statutory 
protection  to  slavery  wherever  it  might  have  entered  the  Territories  ; there 
was  even  talk  in  some  quarters  of  insisting  upon  a repeal  of  the  laws  for- 
bidding the  slave  trade  , and  proposals  of  territorial  expansion  were  becoming 
more  and  more  explicit  and  persistent.  The  exasperation  of  the  incident  at 
Harper’s  Ferry  only  rendered  the  extreme  men  of  the  South  the  more  de- 
termined to  achieve  their  purposes  at  every  point.  When  the  new  Congress 
assembled,  in  December,  1859,  disclosures  came  which  brought  the  Admin- 
istration into  painful  discredit.  A committee  of  the  House,  constituted  to 
investigate  the  charge  made  by  two  members,  that  they  had  been  offered 
bribes  by  the  Administration  to  vote  for  the  admission  of  Kansas  with  the 
Lecompton  Constitution  brought  to  light  many  things  which  cast  a grave 
suspicion  of  corruption  upon  those  highest  in  authority,  and  hastened  the 
already  evident  decline  of  confidence  in  the  President  and  his  counsellors. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


(SIXTH  DECADE) 

ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE  RUSSIA 


\^RSsiime. — While  the  contineut  of  Europe  had  been  torn  with  the  Revolutions  of  1830  and  1848,  England 
had  been  at  peace.  There  had,  indeed,  been  little  wars  here  and  there  with  some  of  her  Asiatic  and 
African  neighbors,  but  from  Waterloo  on  to  the  Sixth  Decade  England  knew  no  real  war.] 

The  wars  against  Napoleon  had  brought  Russia  into  close  alliance 
with  England,  Austria,  and  Prussia.  She  was  recognized  as  a 
valuable  friend  and  a formidable  enem}^  Sharply  defined  by 
Justin  McCarthy,  the  condition  of  things  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  was  this  : Russia,  by  reason  of  her  sympathy  of  religion  or  race 
with  Turkey’s  Christian  populations,  was  brought  into  chronic  antagonism 
with  her;  England,  by  reason  of  her  Asiatic  possessions,  was  kept  in  just 
the  same  state  of  antagonism  to  Russia.  A crisis  at  last  arose  that  threw 
England  into  direct  hostility  with  Russia.  That  crisis  came  about  during 
the  later  years  of  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas.  He  saw  its  opening, 
but  not  its  close.  Nicholas  was  a man  of  remarkable  character.  He  had 
many  of  the  ways  of  an  Asiatic  despot.  He  had  a strong  ambition,  a fierce 
and  fitful  temper,  a daring,  but  sometimes,  too,  a vacillating  will.  He  had 
many  magnanimous  and  noble  qualities,  and  moods  of  sweetness  and  gentle- 
ness. A certain  excitability  ran  through  the  temperament  of  all  his  house, 
which,  in  some  of  its  members,  broke  into  actual  madness.  The  Emperor 
at  one  time  was  very  popular  in  England.  He  had  visited  the  Queen,  and 
had  impressed  every  one  by  his  noble  presence,  his  lofty  stature,  his 
singular  personal  beauty,  his  blended  dignity  and  familiarity  of  manner. 
He  talked  as  if  he  had  no  higher  ambition  than  to  be  in  friendly  alliance 
with  England.  When  he  wished  to  convey  his  impression  of  highest 
degree  of  personal  loyalty  and  honor,  he  always  spoke  of  the  word  of  an 
English  gentleman.  There  can,  indeed,  be  little  doubt  that  the  Emperor 

227 


228 


/::jVGLAjVn  AND  FRANCE  vs.  RUSSIA 


was  sincereh^  anxious  to  keep  on  terms  of  cordial  friendship  with  England ; 
and,  what  is  more,  he  had  no  idea  until  the  veiy  last  that  the  wa}^  he  was 
walking  was  one  which  England  could  not  consent  to  tread.  His  brother 
and  predecessor  had  been  in  close  alliance  with  England  ; his  own  ideal 
hero  was  the  Duke  of  Wellington  ; he  had  made  up  his  mind  that  when  the 
division  of  the  spoils  of  Turkey  came  about,  England  and  he  could  best 
consult  for  their  own  interests  and  the  peace  of  the  world  b}^  making  the 
appropriation  a matter  of  joint  arrangement.  When  he  visited  England  in 
1844,  for  the  second  time,  Nicholas  had  several  conversations  with  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  and  with  Lord  Aberdeen,  then  Foreign  Secretary,  about 
Tnrke}'  and  her  prospects,  and  what  would  be  likel}^  to  happen  in  case  of 
her  dissolution,  which  he  believed  to  be  imminent.  When  he  returned  to 
Russia  he  had  a memorandum  drawn  up  by  Count  Nesselrode,  his  chan- 
cellor, embodying  the  views  which,  according  to  Nicholas’s  impressions, 
were  entertained  alike  by  him  and  by  the  British  statesmen  with  whom  he 
Iiad  been  conversing.  The  memorandum  spoke  of  the  imperative  necessity 
of  Turkey  being  made  to  keep  her  engagements  and  to  treat  her  Christian 
subjects  with  toleration  and  mildness. 

Oil  such  conditions  it  was  laid  down  that  England  and  Russia  must 
alike  desire  her  preservation;  but  the  document  proceeded  to  sa}^  that  never- 
theless these  states  could  not  conceal  from  themselves  the  fact  that  the 
Ottoman  empire  contained  within  itself  man}"  elements  of  dissolution,  and 
that  unforeseen  events  might  at  any  time  hasten  its  fall.  “In  the  uncer- 
tainty which  hovers  over  the  future  a single  fundamental  idea  seems  to 
admit  of  a really  practical  application  ; that  is,  that  the  danger  which  may 
result  from  a catastrophe  in  Turkey  will  be  much  diminished  if,  in  the  event 
of  its  occurring,  Russia  and  England  have  come  to  an  understanding  as  to 
the  course  to  be  taken  by  them  in  common.  That  understanding  will  be 
the  more  beneficial  inasmuch  as  it  will  have  the  full  assent  of  Austria, 
between  whom  and  Russia  there  already  exists  an  entire  accord.”  This 
document  was  sent  to  London  and  kept  in  the  archives  of  the  Foreign  Office. 
The  Emperor  of  Russia  evidently  believed  that  his  views  were  shared  by 
English  statesmen.  The  claims  of  the  Greek  Church  and  those  of  the 
Latin  Church  were  in  antagonism  in  Palestine. 

The  Emperor  of  Russia  was  protector  of  the  Greek  Church ; the 
Kings  of  France  had  long  had  the  Latin  Church  under  their  protection. 
The  Holy  Places  to  which  the  Latins  raised  a claim  were  the  great  Church 
in  Bethlehem,  the  Sanctuary  of  the  Nativity,  the  tomb  of  the  Virgin,  the 
Stone  of  x\nointing,  the  Seven  Arches  of  the  Virgin  in  the  Church  of 


ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE  vs.  RUSS  El 


229 


the  Holy  Sepulcher.  In  the  reign  of  Francis  the  First  of  France  a treaty 
was  made  with  the  Snltaii  by  which  France  was  acknowledged  the  protector 
of  the  Hol}^  Places  in  Palestine,  and  of  the  monks  of  the  Latin  Church  who 
took  on  themselves  the  care  of  the  sacred  moiinments  and  memorials.  But 
the  Greek  Church  afterwards  obtained  firmans  from  the  Snltan,  and  the 
Greeks  claimed  on  the  strength  of  these  concessions  that  they  had  as  good  a 
right  as  the  Latins  to  take  care  of  the  Holy  Places.  Disputes  were  always 
arising,  and,  of  course,  these  were  aggravated  by  the  fact  that  France  was 
supposed  to  be  concerned  in  the  protection  of  one  set  of  disputants  and 
Russia  in  that  of  another.  The  claims  at  length  came  to  be  identified  with 
the  states  which  respectively  protected  them.  An  advantage  of  the  smallest 
kind  gained  by  the  Latins  was  viewed  as  an  insult  to  Russia ; a concession 
to  the  Greeks  was  a snub  to  France.  It  was  France  which  first  stirred  the 
controversy  in  the  time  just  before  the  Crimean  War.  The  French  ambas- 
sador, M.  de  Lavalette,  is  said  to  have  threatened  that  a French  fleet  should 
appear  off  Jaffa,  and  even  hinted  at  a French  occupation  of  Jerusalem, 
“ when,”  as  he  significantly  put  it,  “ we  should  have  all  the  sanctuaries.” 
The  cause  of  all  this  energy  is  not  far  to  seek.  The  Prince  President  had 
only  just  succeeded  in  procuring  himself  to  be  installed  as  Emperor;  and 
he  was  very  anxious  to  distract  the  attention  of  Frenchmen  from  domestic 
politics  to  some  showy  and  startling  policy  abroad.  This  controversy  be- 
tween the  Church  of  the  East  and  the  Church  of  the  West  tempted  him  into 
activity,  as  one  that  seemed  likely  to  give  him  an  opportunity  of  displaying 
the  power  of  France  and  of  the  new  system  without  any  very  great  danger 
or  responsibility.  The  dispute  about  the  Holy  Places  was  easily  settled. 
The  Porte  cared  very  little  about  the  matter,  and  was  willing  enough  to  come 
to  any  fair  terms  by  which  the  whole  controversy  could  be  got  rid  of.  But 
the  demands  of  Russia  went  on.  Prince  Mentschikoff,  a fierce,  rough  man, 
unable  or  unwilling  to  control  his  temper,  was  sent  with  demands  to  Con- 
stantinople. Mentschikoff  brought  his  proposals  with  him  cut-and-dried  in 
the  form  of  a convention  which  he  called  upon  Turkey  to  accept  without 
more  ado.  Turkey  refused,  and  Prince  Mentschikoff  withdrew  in  real  or 
affected  rage,  and  presently  the  Emperor  Nicholas  sent  two  divisions  of  his 
army  across  the  Pruth  to  take  possession  of  the  Danubian  principalities. 
“ From  that  time  all  hope  of  peace  was  over.  English  troops  were  moving 
towards  Malta ; the  streets  of  London,  of  Liverpool,  of  Southampton,  and 
other  towns  were  ringing  with  the  cheers  of  enthusiastic  crowds  gathered 
together  to  watch  the  marching  of  troops  destined  for  the  East.  Turkey 
had  actually  declared  war  against  Russia.” 


230 


ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE  vs.  RUSSIA 


The  principal  reason  for  the  separation  of  the  two  Western  Powers  of 
Europe  from  the  other  states  was  found  in  the  condition  of  Prussia.  The 
Prussian  sovereign  was  related  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  his  kingdom 
was  almost  overshadowed  by  Russian  influence.  Prussia  had  come  to 
occupy  a lower  position  in  Europe  than  she  had  ever  before  held  during  her 
existence  as  a kingdom.  The  King  of  Prussia  was  a highly  cultured, 
amiable,  literary  man.  He  loved  letters  and  art  in  a sort  of  dilettante  way  ; 
he  had  good  impulses  and  a weak  nature  ; be  was  a dreamer.  He  went  so 
far  with  the  allies  as  to  lead  them  for  a while  to  believe  that  he  was  going  all 
the  way  ; but  at  the  last  moment  he  broke  off,  declared  that  the  interests  of 
Prussia  did  not  require  or  allow  him  to  engage  in  a war,  and  left  France  and 
England  to  walk  their  own  road.  Austria  could  not  venture  upon  such  a 
war  without  the  co-operation  of  Prussia.  Austria  and  Prussia  made  an 
arrangement  between  themselves  for  mutual  defence  in  case  the  progress  of 
the  war  should  directly  imperil  the  interests  of  either  ; and  England  and 
France  undertook  in  alliance  the  task  of  chastising  the  presumption  and 
restraining  the  ambitious  design  of  Russia.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
the  controversy  between  Russia  and  the  West  really  involved  several  distinct 
questions,  in  some  of  which  Prussia  had  absolutely  no  direct  interest  and 
Austria  very  little.  Foremost  among  these  was  the  question  of  the  Straits 
of  the  Dardanelles  and  the  Bosphorus. 

Russia  and  Turkey  between  them  surrounded  the  whole  of  the  Black 
Sea  with  their  territory.  The  only  outlet  of  Russia  on  the  southern  side  is 
the  Black  Sea.  The  Black  Sea  is,  save  for  one  little  outlet  at  its  southwestern 
extremity,  a huge  land-locked  lake.  That  little  outlet  is  the  narrow  channel 
called  the  Bosphorus.  The  Bosphorus  is  some  seventeen  miles  in  length, 
and  in  some  places  it  is  hardly  more  than  half  a mile  in  breadth.  But  it  is 
ver}^  deep  all  through,  so  that  ships  of  war  can  float  close  up  to  its  very 
shores  on  either  side.  It  passes  between  the  city  of  Constantinople  and  its 
Asiatic  suburb  of  Scutari,  and  then  opens  into  the  little  Sea  of  Marmora. 
Out  of  the  Sea  of  Marmora  the  way  westward  is  through  the  channel  of  the 
Dardanelles,  which  forms  the  passage  into  the  Archipelago,  and  thence  into 
the  IMediterranean.  The  channel  of  the  Dardanelles  is,  like  the  Bosphorus, 
narrow  and  very  deep,  but  it  pursues  its  course  for  some  forty  miles.  Any 
one  who  holds  a map  in  his  hand  will  see  at  once  how  Turkey  and  Russia 
alike  are  affected  by  the  existence  of  the  Straits  on  either  extremity  of  the 
Sea  of  Marmora.  Close  up  these  Straits  against  vessels  of  war,  and  the 
capital  of  the  Sultan  is  absolutely  unassailable  from  the  sea.  Close  them, 
on  the  other  hand,  and  the  Russian  fleet  in  the  Black  Sea  is  absolutely  cut 


Thu  Crimean  War  began  ill  1853,  witli  France.  England,  uiul  Sardinia  on  the  side  of  Tm  key  and  all  united  against  lUissia.  Tliere  were  numerous  bloody  eonlliets  and  on  October  9. 
1854,  the  regular  siege  of  Sevastojiol  (or  .Sebastopol)  began.  It  was  long  and  accoinjianied  by  many  desp^'rate  battles.  'I'lie  linal  boiuliardment  was  opened  September  5,  1854,  and  lasted 
three  days.  On  September  8,  tlie  Malakofl'  a:id  Iledan  were  stormed  and  taken  by  the  allies  after  a furious  struggle.  The  Russians  blew  u])  tboir  e.xtensive  fortifications  on  the  southern 
gfiore  of  the  harbor  and  retreated  to  the  north  side  which  the  allies  never  seriously  attempted  to  comiuer, 


It  was  on  the  25th  of  October,  1854,  that  tlie  9:>rd  or  Sutherland  Iligldanders,  commanded  by  Sir  Colin  Campbell,  afterward  Lord  Clyde,  were  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle  on  a little  ridge  to  receive  the 
e of  the  Russian  cavalry, in  the  Crimea.  W.  II.  Russell,  the  London  Times  correspondent,  who  witnessed  the  attack  and  defence,  described  the  Highlanders  as  “ that  thin  red  streak  topped  with  a line 
el,”  but  afterward  improved  the  sentence  by  substituting  “ line  ” for  “ streak.”  It  is  worth  noting  that  the  “ Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade  ” occurred  on  the  same  day. 


ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE  vs.  RUSSIA 


231 


off  from  the  Alediterraiieaii  and  the  Western  world.  As  matters  stood  the 
Sultan  was  not  only  permitted  but  was  bound  to  close  the  Straits  in  time  of 
peace,  and  no  navy  might  enter  them  without  his  consent  even  in  time  of 
war.  By  this  treaty  the  Black  Sea  fleet  of  Russia  became  literally  a Black 
Sea  fleet,  wholly  cut  off  from  the  Alediterranean  and  Western  Europe. 
Naturally  Russia  chafed  at  this  ; but  at  the  same  time  she  was  not  willing 
to  see  the  restriction  withdrawn  in  favor  of  an  arrangement  that  would  leave 
the  Straits,  and  consequently  the  Black  Sea,  open  to  the  navies  of  France 
and  England.  Therefore  it  was  natural  that  the  ambition  of  Russia  should 
tend  towards  the  ultimate  possession  of  Constantinople  and  the  Straits 
herself ; but  as  this  was  an  ambition,  the  fulfilment  of  which  seemed  far  off 
and  beset  with  vast  dangers,  her  object,  meanwhile,  was  to  gain  as  mncli 
influence  and  ascendancy  as  possible  over  the  Ottoman  Government ; to  make 
it  practically  her  vassal,  and  in  any  case  to  prevent  another  great  Power 
from  obtaining  the  influence  and  ascendancy  which  she  coveted  for  herself 
Now  the  tendenc}^  of  this  ambition  and  of  all  the  intermediate  claims  and 
disputes  with  regard  to  the  opening  or  closing  of  the  Straits  was  of  impor- 
tance to  Europe  generally  as  a part  of  Russian  aggrandizement ; but  of  the 
great  Powers  they  concerned  England  most ; France  as  a Mediterranean  and 
naval  power  ; Austria  only  in  a third  and  remoter  degree  ; and  Prussia,  at  the 
time  of  King  Frederick  William,  least  of  all.  England  then  and  France 
entered  the  war  as  allies.  Lord  Raglan,  formerly  Lord  Fitzroy  Somerset,  an 
old  pupil  of  Wellington’s  in  the  Peninsular  War,  and  who  had  lost  his  right 
arm  at  Waterloo,  was  appointed  to  command  the  English  forces.  Alarshal 
St.  Armand,  a bold,  brilliant  soldier  of  fortune,  was  entrusted  b}-  the 
Emperor  of  the  French  with  the  leadership  of  the  soldiers  of  France. 

The  allied  forces  went  out  to  the  East  and  assembled  at  Varna,  on  the 
Black  Sea  shore,  from  which  they  were  to  make  their  descent  on  the  Crimea. 
The  invasion  of  the  Crimea,  however,  was  not  welcomed  by  the  English  or 
the  French  commander.  It  was  undertaken  by  Lord  Raglan  out  of  deference 
to  the  recommendations  of  the  Government ; and  by  Marshal  St.  Arnand 
out  of  deference  to  the  Emperor  of  the  French.  The  allied  forces  were 
therefore  conveyed  to  the  southwestern  shore  of  the  Crimea,  and  effected  a 
landing  in  Kalamila  Bay,  a short  distance  north  of  the  point  at  which  the 
river  Alma  runs  into  the  sea.  Sebastopol  itself  lies  about  thirt}"  miles  to 
the  south,  and  then  more  southward  still,  divided  by  the  bulk  of  a jotting 
promontory  from  Sebastopol,  is  the  harbor  of  Balaklava.  The  disembarka- 
tion began  on  the  morning  of  September  14,  1854,  and  was  effected  without 
any  opposition  from  the  Russians.  On  September  19  the  allies  marched  out 


232 


ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE  vs.  RUSSIA 


of  their  encampments  and  reached  the  Alma  about  noon  on  September  20. 
They  found  that  they  had  to  cross  the  river  in  the  face  of  the  Russian  bat- 
teries, armed  with  heavy  guns,  on  the  highest  points  of  the  hills  or  bluffs, 
of  scattered  artillery,  and  of  dense  masses  of  infantry  which  covered  the 
hills.  The  Russians  were  under  the  command  of  Prince  Meiitschikoff.  The 
soldiers  of  the  Czar  fought  stoutly  and  stubbornly  as  they  have  always 
done,  but  they  could  not  stand  up  against  the  blended  vehemence  and  ob- 
stinancy  of  the  English  and  French.  The  river  was  crossed ; the  opposite 
heights  were  mounted,  Prince  Mentschikoff ’s  great  redoubt  was  carried;  the 
Russians  were  driven  from  the  field ; the  allies  occupied  their  ground ; the 
victor}^  was  to  the  Western  Powers.  The  Russians  ought  to  have  been  pur- 
sued. But  there  was  no  pursuit.  Lord  Raglan  was  eager  to  follow  up  the 
\dctory,  but  the  French  had  as  yet  hardly  any  cavalry,  and  Marshal  St. 
Arnaud  would  not  agree  to  any  further  enterprise  that  day.  Lord  Raglan 
believed  that  he  ought  not  to  persist,  and  nothing  was  done.  Except  from 
the  bravery  of  those  who  fought,  the  battle  was  not  much  to  boast  of.  But 
it  was  the  first  great  battle  which  for  nearly  forty  years  English  soldiers  had 
fought  with  a civilized  enemy.  The  military  authorities  and  the  country 
were  well  disposed  to  make  the  most  of  it.  “The  gallant  medley  on  the 
banks  of  the  Alma,  and  the  fruitless  interval  of  inaction  that  followed  it 
were  told  of  as  if  men  were  speaking  of  some  of  the  gods.” 

It  is  very  likely  that  if  a sudden  dash  had  been  made  at  Sebastopol  by  land 
and  sea,  it  might  have  been  taken  almost  at  the  very  opening  of  the  war. 
But  the  delay  gave  the  Russians  full  warning ; and  they  did  not  neglect  it. 
On  the  third  day  after  the  battle  of  the  Alma  the  Russians  sank  seven  vessels 
of  their  Black  Sea  fleet  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  of  Sebastopol,  and  the 
entrance  was  barred  as  by  sunken  rocks  against  any  approach  of  an  enemy’s 
ship.  There  was  an  end  to  every  dream  of  a sudden  capture  of  Sebastopol. 
The  allied  armies  moved  again  from  their  positions  on  the  Alma  to  Balaklava, 
which  lies  south  of  the  city,  on  the  other  side  of  a promontory,  and  which  has 
a port  that  might  enable  them  to  secure  a constant  means  of  communication 
between  the  armies  and  the  fleets.  Sebastopol  was  but  a few  miles  off,  and 
preparations  were  at  once  made  for  an  attack  on  it  by  land  and  sea.  On 
October  17  the  attack  began.  It  was  practically  a failure.  The  fleet 
could  not  get  near  enough  to  the  sea-forts  of  Sebastopol  to  make  their  broad- 
sides of  any  real  effect,  because  of  the  shallow  water  and  the  sunken  ships  ; 
and  although  the  attack  from  land  was  vigorous  and  was  fiercely  kept  up^, 
yet  it  could  not  carry  its  object.  The  Russians  attacked  the  allies  fiercely 
on  October  25,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  possession  of  Balaklava.  The 


ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE  vs.  RUSSIA 


233 


attempt  was  bold  and  brilliant ; but  it  was  splendidl}'  repulsed.  Never  did 
a day  of  battle  do  more  credit  to  English  courage,  or  less,  perhaps,  to  English 
generalship.  The  cavalry  particularly  distinguished  themselves.  It  was  in 
great  measure  a cavalry  action.  It  may  be  memorable  in  all  English  history 
as  the  battle  in  which  occurred  the  famous  charge  of  the  Light  Brigade. 
Owing  to  some  fatal  misconception  of  the  meaning  of  an  order  from  the 
Commander-in-chief,  the  Light  Brigade,  607  men  in  all,  charged  what  has 
been  rightly  described  as  the  Russian  army  in  position.  Of  the  607  men 
198  came  back.  Long,  painful,  and  hopeless  were  the  disputes  about  this 
fatal  order.  The  controversy  can  never  be  wholly  settled.  The  officer  who 
bore  the  order  was  one  of  the  first  who  fell  in  the  outset.  All  Europe,  all 
the  world  rang  with  wonder  and  admiration  of  the  futile  and  splendid  charge. 
The  Poet  Laureate  saug  of  it  in  spirited  verses.  Perhaps  its  best  epitaph 
was  contained  in  the  celebrated  comment  ascribed  to  the  French  General 
Bosquet,  and  which  has  since  become  proverbial,  and  been  quoted  until  men 
are  well-nigh  tired  of  it — “ It  was  magnificent,  but  it  was  not  war.” 

Next  day,  the  enemy  made  another  vigorous  attack  on  a much  larger 
scale,  moving  out  of  Sebastopol  itself,  and  were  again  repulsed.  On  Novem- 
ber 5,  the  Russians  made  another  grand  attack  on  the  allies,  chiefly  on  the 
British,  and  were  once  more  repulsed.  The  plateau  of  Inkermaii  was  the 
principal  scene  of  the  struggle.  It  was  occupied  by  the  Guards  and  a few 
British  regiments,  on  whom  fell,  till  General  Bosquet  with  his  French  Avas 
able  to  come  to  their  assistance,  the  task  of  resisting  a Russian  arm3^  This 
Avas  the  severest  and  fiercest  engagement  of  the  campaign.  Inkerman  Avas 
described  at  the  time  as  the  soldiers’  battle.  Strategy,  it  Avas  said  eA^ery- 
Avhere,  there  Avas  none.  The  attack  Avas  under  cover  of  a dark  and  drizzling 
mist.  The  battle  Avas  fought  for  a Avhile  almost  absolutely  in  the  dark. 
There  AA^as  liardE^  any  attempt  to  direct  the  allies  by  any  principles  of 
scientific  warfare. 

So  the  operations  in  the  Crimea  dragged  on.  The  English  arm}"  lost 
much  by  the  death  of  its  brave  Commander-in-Chief,  Lord  Raglan.  He  AAns 
succeeded  by  General  Simpson,  AAdiose  administration  during  the  short  time 
that  he  held  the  command  AA"as  at  least  AA^ell  qualified  to  keep  Raglan’s 
memory  green  and  to  prevent  the  regret  for  his  death  from  losing  aii}"  of  its 
keenness.  The  French  army  had  lost  its  first  commander  long  before — the 
versatile,  reckless,  brilliant  soldier  of  fortune,  St.  Ariiaud.  After  St. 
Arnaiid’s  death  the  command  was  transferred  for  a AAdiile  to  General  Canro- 
bert,  Avho  resigned  it  in  favor  of  General  Pdissier.  The  Sardinian  con- 
tingent had  arrived  and  had  given  admirable  proof  of  its  courage  and 


234 


ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE  vs.  RUSSIA 


discipline.  On  August  i6,  1855,  the  Russians,  under  General  Liprandi, 
made  an  unsuccessful  effort  to  raise  the  siege  of  Sebastopol  by  an  attack  on 
the  allied  forces.  The  Sardinian  contingent  bore  themselves  with  stubborn 
braver}"  in  the  resistance,  and  all  Northern  Italy  was  thrown  into  wild 
delight  by  the  news  that  the  flag  of  Piedmont  had  been  carried  to  victory 
over  the  troops  of  one  great  European  Power,  and  side  b}"  side  with  those  of 
two  others.  It  was  the  first  great  illustration  of  Cavonr’s  habitual  polic}^  of 
blended  audacity  and  cool,  far-seeing  judgment.  The  siege  had  been  pro- 
gressing for  some  time  with  considerable  activity.  The  hlalakoff  tower  and 
the  Mamelon  battery  in  front  of  it  became  the  scenes  and  the  objects  of 
constant  struggle.  The  Russians  made  desperate  night  sorties  again  and 
again,  and  were  always  repulsed.  On  June  7,  the  English  assaulted  the 
quarries  in  front  of  the  Redan,  and  the  French  attacked  the  Mamelon. 
The  attack  on  both  side  was  successful;  but  it  was  followed  on  the  i8th  of 
the  same  month  by  a desperate  and  wholly  unsuccessful  attack  on  the 
Redan  and  Malakoff  batteries.  On  September  5 the  allies  made  an  attack 
almost  simultaneously  upon  the  Malakoff  and  the  Redan.  The  French 
soon  got  possession  of  the  Malakoff,  and  the  English  then  at  once  advanced 
upon  the  Redan,  but  the  French  were  near  the  Malakoff;  the  English  were 
far  awa}^  from  the  Redan.  The  distance  the  English  soldiers  had  to  traverse 
left  them  almost  helplessly  exposed  to  the  Russian  fire.  They  stormed  the 
parapets  of  the  Redan  despite  all  the  difiiculties  of  their  attack ; but  they 
were  not  able  to  hold  the  place.  The  attacking  party  were  far  too  small  in 
numbers,  reinforcements  did  not  come  in  time ; the  English  held  their  own 
for  an  hour  against  odds  that  might  have  seemed  overwhelming;  but  it  was 
simply  impossible  for  them  to  establish  themselves  in  the  Redan,  and  the 
remnant  of  them  that  could  withdraw  had  to  retreat  to  the  trenches.  It 
was  only  the  old  story  of  the  war — superb  courage  and  skill  of  the  officers 
and  men  ; outrageously  bad  generalship.  The  attack  might  have  been 
renewed  that  day,  but  the  English  Commander-in-Chief,  General  Simpson, 
resolved  not  to  make  another  attempt  until  the  next  morning. 

Before  the  morrow  came  there  was  nothing  to  attack.  The  Russians 
withdrew  during  the  night  from  the  south  side  of  Sebastopol.  A bridge  of 
boats  had  been  constructed  across  the  bay  to  connect  the  north  and  south 
sides  of  the  city,  and  across  this  bridge  Prince  Gortschakoff  quietly  with- 
drew his  troops.  The  Russian  general  felt  that  it  would  be  impossible  for 
him  to  hold  the  city  much  longer,  and  that  to  remain  there  w^as  only  useless 
w^aste  of  life.  But,  as  he  said  in  his  owm  dispatch,  “It  w^as  not  Sebastopol 
wiiich  w^e  have  left  to  them,  but  the  burning  ruins  of  the  towm,  wiiich  wx 


ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE  vs.  RUSSIA 


235 


ourselves  set  fire  to,  having  maintained  the  honor  of  the  defence  in  such  a 
manner  that  our  great-grandchildren  may  recall  with  pride  the  remembrance 
of  it  and  send  it  on  to  all  posterity.”  It  was  some  time  before  the  allies 
could  venture  to  enter  the  abandoned  cit3^  The  arsenals  and  powder  mag- 
azines were  exploding,  the  flames  were  bursting  out  of  ever^"  public  building 
and  private  house.  The  Russians  had  made  of  vSebastopol  another  Moscow. 

With  the  close  of  that  long  siege,  which  had  lasted  nearly  a 3^ear,  the 
war  may  be  said  to  have  ended.  The  brilliant  episode  of  Kars,  its  splendid 
defence,  and  its  final  surrender  was  brought  to  its  conclusion,  indeed,  after 
the  fall  of  Sebastopol ; but  the  war  was  virtually  over.  Austria  had  been 
exerting  herself  throughout  its  progress  in  the  interest  of  peace,  and  after 
the  fall  of  Sebastopol,  she  made  a new  effort,  with  greater  success.  France 
and  Russia  were,  indeed,  now  anxious  to  be  out  of  the  struggle  almost  on 
any  terms.  If  England  had  held  out,  it  is  highly  probable  that  she  would 
have  had  to  do  so  alone.  For  this,  indeed.  Lord  Palmerston  was  fully  pre- 
pared, as  a last  resource,  sooner  than  submit  to  terms  which  he  considered 
unsatisfactory.  The  Congress  of  Paris  opened  on  February  26,  1856,  and 
on  March  30  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  by  the  plenipotentiaries  of 
the  Great  Powers.  Prussia  had  been  admitted  to  the  Congress,  which, 
therefore,  represented  England,  France,  Russia,  Austria,  Prussia,  Turke3^, 
and  Sardinia.  By  the  treaty,  Kars  was  restored  to  the  Sultan,  and  Sebas- 
topol and  all  other  places  taken  by  the  allies  were  given  back  to  Russia. 
The  Great  Powers  engaged  to  respect  the  independence  and  territorial 
integrity  of  Turkey.  The  Sultan  issued  a firman  for  ameliorating  the 
condition  of  his  Christian  subjects,  and  no  right  of  interference,  it  was 
distinctly  specified,  was  given  to  the  other  Powers  by  this  concession  on  the 
Sultan’s  part.  The  Black  Sea  was  neutralized : its  waters  and  its  ports 
were  thrown  open  to  the  mercantile  marine  of  every  nation,  and  formalE^ 
and  in  perpetuity  interdicted  to  the  flag  of  war,  either  of  the  Powers  possess- 
ing its  coasts  or  of  any  other  Power,  with  exception  of  the  right  of  each  of 
the  Powers  to  have  the  same  numbers  of  small  armed  vessels  in  the  Black 
Sea,  to  act  as  a sort  of  maritime  police,  and  to  protect  the  coasts.  The 
Sultan  and  the  Emperor  engaged  to  establish  and  maintain  no  niilitar3^  or 
maritime  arsenals  in  the  sea.  The  navigation  of  the  Danube  was  thrown 
open.  Moldavia  and  Wallachia,  continuing  under  the  suzerainty  of  the 
Sultan,  were  to  011303^  all  the  privileges  and  immunities  the3^  alread3^ 
possessed  under  the  guarantee  of  the  contracting  Powers,  but  with  no 
separate  rights  of  intervention  in  their  affairs.  Out  of  hloldavia  and 
Wallachia  united,  after  various  internal  changes,  there  subsequentE^  grew 


236 


ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE  vs.  RUSSIA 


the  kingdom  of  Roumania.  The  existing  position  of  Servia  was  secured  by 
the  treaty.  During  time  of  peace,  the  Sultan  engaged  to  admit  no  foreign 
ships  of  war  into  the  Bosphorus  or  the  Dardenelles.  England  lost  some 
twent3^-four  thousand  men  in  the  war,  of  whom  hardly  a sixth  fell  in  battle  or 
died  of  wounds.  Cholera  and  other  diseases  gave  grim  account  of  the  rest. 
Forty-one  million  pounds  were  added  by  the  campaign  to  the  national  debt. 

There  was  a feeling  of  disappointment  in  England.  Our  soldiers  had 
done  splendidly ; but  our  generals  aiid  our  system  had  done  poorly  indeed. 
Only  one  first-class  reputation  of  a military  order  had  come  out  of  the  war, 
and  that  was  by  common  consent  of  the  world  awarded  to  a Russian — to 
General  Todleben,  the  defender  of  Sebastopol.  No  new  name  was  made  on 
our  side  or  on  that  of  the  French ; and  some  promising  or  traditional  repu- 
tations were  shattered.  The  political  results  of  the  war  were  to  many  minds 
equally  unsatisfactory.  Lord  Aberdeen  estimated  that  it  might,  perhaps, 
secure  peace  in  the  east  of  Europe  for  some  twenty-five  years.  His  modest 
expectations  were  prophetic.  Indeed  it  a little  overshot  the  mark.  Twenty- 
two  years  after  the  close  of  the  Crimean  campaign  Russia  and  Turkey  were 
at  war  again.” 

Early  in  1857,  consequence  of  the  high-handed  policy  pursued  by 
Lord  Palmerston  towards  China  in  what  was  known  as  “ the  affair  of  the 
lorcha  Arrow,”  Mr.  Cobden  moved  in  parliament  what  was  practically  a vote 
of  censure.  This  was  carried  by  a majority  of  sixteen  votes.  Palmerston 
at  once  dissolved  Parliament,  and  in  the  ensuing  general  election  scored  a 
great  triumph.  In  June,  1857,  the  news  of  the  Sepoy  Mutiny  reached  Eng- 
land. Sir  Colin  Campbell  instantly  started  to  take  chief  command,  and 
strong  bodies  of  troops  were  hurried  to  that  distant  part  of  the  world.  Into 
the  details  of  that  famous  story  we  have  no  space  to  enter.  Sufiice  it  to  say, 
that  at  Cawnpore,  Nana  Sahib  massacred  his  English  captives,  and  that 
Lucknow  was  the  point  of  foremost  interest  during  the  mutin^q  because  of 
its  obstinate  defence  against  the  rebels,  its  capture  and  eventual  recovery. 


CHAPTER  XXV 


(SEVENTH  DECADE) 
THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


[Resume. — For  thirty  years  slavery  had  been  the  absorbing  question  in  American  politics.  For  the  most 
part  the  Presidents  of  the  Union  had  been  Southern  by  birth  or  sentiment.  A new  President  was 
chosen  in  i860 — Abraham  Lincoln,  from  his  youth,  an  enemy  to  slavery.] 

From  the  very  foundation  of  the  American  Government  there  had  been 
a conflict  of  opinion  regarding  the  rights  of  the  States  which  com- 
posed the  Union.  One  party,  fearing  the  evils  which  spring  from  the 
weakness  of  the  governing  power,  sought  protection  from  those  in  the  close 
union  of  States  under  a strong  government.  Another  party,  impressed  by 
the  unhappy  condition  of  the  over-governed  nations  of  the  old  world,  feared 
the  creation  of  a government  which  might  grow  into  a despotism.  The 
aim  of  the  one  was  to  vest  the  largest  possible  measure  of  power  in  a central 
government ; the  aim  of  the  other  was  to  limit  the  powers  accorded  to  the 
central  government,  and  give  the  widest  possible  scope  to  the  sovereignty 
of  the  individual  States.  These  two  sets  of  opinions  continued  to  exist  and 
to  conflict  irreconcilably.  In  the  North  the  belief  prevailed  that  America 
was  a nation  formed  by  the  voluntary  junction  of  States,  and  made  indis- 
soluble by  their  agreement  that  it  should  be  so.  In  the  South,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  was  maintained  that  each  individual  State  retained  her  sov- 
ereign right  to  withdraw,  at  pleasure,  from  the  Union. 

Believing  thus,  and  in  their  opinion  holding  that  the  Northern  antipa- 
thy to  slavery  created  a sufficient  occasion  for  its  exercise,  the  slave-owners 
entered  promptly  on  the  dark  and  bloody  path  of  secession.  South  Caro- 
lina, always  the  least  loyal  of  the  States  to  the  Union,  led  the  wa}^ 
Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Florida  followed  her  at  once  ; 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  and  Texas  joined  the 
revolted  sisterhood  a few  months  later.  Eleven  States,  stretching  over  an 

237 


238 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


area  of  a million  square  miles,  and  inhabited  by  six  million  whites  and  over 
three  million  negroes,  thus  declared  that  their  connection  with  the  Union 
had  ceased,  and  formed  themselves  into  a new  association.  Moreover,  they 
intimated  that  they  were  prepared  to  maintain  by  arms  what  they  had  done. 
The  task  which  la}^  before  the  North  was  to  bring  these  men  and  their  ter- 
ritory forcibly  back  into  the  Union.  It  was  a task  the  enormous  difficulty 
of  which  was  at  first  imperfectly  appreciated  by  the  North.  The  Southern 
rising  seemed  to  her  nothing  more  than  a gigantic  riot,  which  she  proposed 
to  suppress  in  a few  weeks.  Inspired  by  this  ill-founded  confidence,  her 
imperfect!}^  disciplined  troops  were  ordered  to  attack  the  Southern  army, 
which  lay  at  Manassas  Junction  in  Virginia.  The  battle  was  bravely 
fought,  and  was  approaching  a victorious  close,  when  it  Avas  turned  into 
defeat  b}^  the  arrival  upon  the  field  of  Southern  reinforcements. 

V/e  must  not  anticipate,  however.  The  successor  to  whom  President 
Buchanan  very  willingly  resigned  the  responsibility  of  guiding  affairs  at 
this  critical  juncture  was  one  of  the  most  admirable  figures  in  the  history 
of  modern  times.  Abraham  Lincoln  came  of  the  most  unpromising  stock 
on  the  continent,  the  pore  white  trash  ” of  the  South.  “ His  shiftless 
father  had  moved  from  place  to  place  in  the  Western  country,  failing  where 
everybody  else  was  succeeding  in  making  a living;  and  the  boy  had  spent 
the  most  susceptible  years  of  his  life  under  no  discipline  but  that  of  degrad- 
ing poverty,  and  yet  a singular  genius  for  getting  and  using  knowledge 
manifested  itself  in  him  from  the  first,  and  was  the  more  remarkable  because 
free  from  morbid  quality,  and  slow,  patient,  and  equable  in  its  development. 
He  was  altogether  like  the  rough  frontiersmen  with  whom  he  lived,  in  his 
coarse,  neglected  dress,  his  broad  and  boisterous  humor,  his  careless,  unstren- 
uous  ways  of  life ; but  he  was  vastl}"  above  them  in  intellectual  and  moral 
stature.  He  gained  an  easy  masteiy  over  them,  too,  by  cultivating,  as  he 
did,  the  directer  and  more  potent  forms  of  speech.  And  his  supremacy  was 
the  more  assured  because  it  was  a moral  as  well  as  an  intellectual  suprem- 
acy. To  eveiybody  who  knew  him  he  was  ‘ Honest  Abe.’  When  at  length 
he  undertook  to  meet  Douglas  in  public  debate,  he  had  come  into  the  full 
maturity  of  his  splendid  power  to  understand  and  persuade.  Having  devel- 
oped among  the  people,  slowly  as  if  in  their  company,  b}^  mastering  what 
they  but  partiall}^  comprehended,  penetrated  the  Avhile  by  their  sentiments 
and  aspirations,  he  came  into  the  leadership  of  his  party  Avith  an  aptitude 
and  equipment  for  affairs  Avhich  no  other  man  could  riA^al.” 

His  task  as  President  AA^as  “ more  difficult  than  that  of  Washington 
himself  had  been,”  as  he  had  said  to  his  neighbors,  Avith  solemn  solicitude 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


239 


fertile  future.  There  was  a sentiment  to  create  and  a party  to  compact; 
and  these  things  were  to  be  done  by  a man  comparativel}'  unknown  as  yet. 
He  meant  to  respect  the  Constitution  in  all  things.  It  was  in  the  oath  that 
he  took  as  President  he  said  that  he  would  to  the  best  of  his  ability  pre- 
serve, protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution  ; and  he  did  not  feel  that  he  might 
^'take  an  oath  to  get  power,  and  break  the  oath  in  using  that  power.” 
Neither  did  he  feel,  however,  that  he  could  be  said  even  to  have  tried  to  pre- 
serve the  Constitution  if,  “ to  save  slavery  or  any  minor  matter,”  he  should 
“permit  the  wreck  of  government,  country,  and  Constitution  all  together.” 
He  sought  to  follow  a course  of  policy  in  which  firmness  and  conciliation 
should  be  equally  prominent,  and  in  which  he  could  carry  the  plain  people 
of  the  country  with  him. 

Having  called  for  and  obtained  the  militar}^  support  demanded  b3^  the- 
imniediate  exigency,  Mr.  Tincoln  summoned  Congress  to  convene  in  special 
session.  A colossal  task  confrQiited  it.  The  advantage  of  first  preparation 
was  with  the  South.  “ What  with  the  resignation  and  surrender  which  fol- 
lowed the  first  action  of  the  seceding  States,  the  army  of  the  United  States 
had  gone  almost  to  pieces.  The  treasury  was  practically  empt}^  Even  the 
civil  service  needed  to  be  reconstructed,  because  of  the  number  of  Southern 
men  who  had  withdrawn  from  it  More  than  a year  was  to  elapse  before  the 
overwhelming  material  power  of  the  North  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  concentrated  forces  of  the  South.  Congress  devoted  itself  very  heartily 
to  the  financial  and  military  measures  rendered  necessary  by  the  situation. 
It  directed  a blockade  of  the  Southern  ports  ; it  authorized  a loan  and  voted 
large  appropriations,  increasing  the  tariff  duties,  August  5,  to  produce  the 
necessary  revenue ; it  provided  for  the  calling  out  of  five  hundred  thousand 
volunteers  ; passed  acts  defining  and  punishing  conspiracy  against  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  providing  for  the  confiscation  of  all  property  emplo3^ed  against 
the  United  States.  During  its  regular  winter  session  it  resumed  the  same 
policy  of  strengthening  both  the  laws  and  the  resources  of  the  Government 
against  hostile  attacks.  It  then  took  the  first  steps  of  that  financial  polic}^ 
which  was  unflinchingly  carried  out  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Industries 
were  to  be  stimulated  to  the  utmost  possible  extent  b}^  protective  duties,  and 
then  used  by  direct  taxation  for  the  support  of  the  war.  the  middle  of 
the  summer  of  1862  this  S3^steni  of  polic3^  was  virtual^^  complete,  in  Febru- 
ar3^  a great  issue  of  irredeemable  paper  mone3^  was  voted,  and  the  paper 
given  full  legal  tender  quality.  In  July  a Tariff  Act  was  passed  which 
veiy  greatl3^  increased  the  duties  on  imports,  and  an  internal  revenue  lav/ 
adopted  which  besides  imposing  specific  taxes  on  the  production  of  iron, 


240 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


steel,  paper,  coal  oil,  leather,  etc.,  and  required  licenses  for  many  callings, 
established  a general  income  tax,  and  mulcted  railway,  steamboat,  and 
express  companies  in  taxes  on  their  gross  receipts.  The  same  months  saw 
the  charter  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railway  pass  Congress  with  huge  grants 
of  land  and  money  from  the  Federal  Government.  Public  lands  were 
granted  also  to  the  various  States  in  aid  of  the  establishment  of  agricul- 
tural colleges  ; and  a ‘ Homestead  Bill  ’ was  adopted  which  offered  portions 
of  the  public  domain  to  heads  of  families  at  a nominal  fee.  Wealth  and 
taxes  were  to  be  made  to  grow  together,  the  expansion  of  population  and 
industr^q  and  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  war.” 

Meantime  it  was  becoming  evident  that  the  struggle  was  to  be  both 
fierce  and  prolonged,  taxing  to  the  utmost  even  the  superb  resources  of  the 
North,  whose  ports  were  open,  and  whose  material  power  had  chance  of 
augmentation  even  in  the  midst  of  war  itself.  The  volunteers  at  first  called 
out  had  been  enlisted  for  only  three  months’  service ; it  was  expected  that 
something  would  be  done  at  once  which  should  be  decisive  of  the  sectional 
issue.  Towards  the  end  of  July,  i86i.  General  McDowell  moved  with  the 
Federal  forces  upon  Richmond,  the  Confederate  capital,  and  on  the  21st  met, 
as  we  noted  above,  the  Confederate  forces  at  Manassas,  under  Generals  Joseph 
E.  Johnston  and  Beauregard.  A stubborn  and  sanguinary  battle  ensued, 
which  resulted  in  the  utter  rout  of  McDowell,  whose  troops  fled  back  to 
Washington  in  hopeless  confusion.  Already  there  had  been  several  engage- 
ments upon  a small  scale  in  western  Virginia,  where  the  S3mipath3^  of  the 
people  was  with  the  Union.  These  had  resulted  in  giving  to  Federal  troops 
under  General  McClellan  control  of  the  upper  sources  of  both  the  Potomac 
and  the  Ohio  rivers.  Simila.r  side  campaigns  during  the  antunin  and 
winter  secured  also  for  the  Federal  power  the  greater  part  of  Missouri  and 
Kentucky,  and  fixed  sharply  enough  the  geographical  area  of  secession. 

A significant  international  incident  called  attention  in  the  autumn  to 
the  possible  part  that  foreign  governments  had  from  the  first  hoped  for,  and 
even  expected,  foreign  recognition  and  assistance.  The  Southern  States 
were  the  great  cotton  fields  of  the  world,  and  there  were  hundreds  of 
factories  in  England  which  must  stand  idle,  thousands  of  families  who  must 
starve,  if  the  Southern  ports  should  be  effectually  closed  against  the  expor- 
tation of  the  great  staple.  European  power,  it  was  thought,  would  not  be 
loth  to  see  the  great  republic  in  America  lose  some  of  its  formidable 
strength  in  division  ; and  it  was  soon  known  that  in  England  the  most 
influential  classes  sympathized  with  the  aims  of  the  South.  J.  M.  Mason 
and  John  Slidell  commissioners  from  the  Confederate  States  to  England 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


241 


and  France,  respectively,  ran  the  Federal  blockade  at  Charleston,  and 
embarked  at  Havana  on  the  English  steamer  “ Trent.”  On  November  8 
the  steamer  was  overhauled  by  a United  States  man-of  war,  and  the  com- 
missioners were  taken  from  her  and  carried  prisoners  to  Fort  Warren,  in 
Boston  Harbor.  At  once  England  demanded  their  surrender,  and  an 
apology  from  the  United  States  for  so  gross  a breach  of  international  right, 
accompanying  her  demand  with  open  preparations  for  war.  The  inter- 
national rights  for  which  she  contended  were  such  as  the  United  States 
herself  had  always  insisted  upon,  and  the  commissioners  were  released ; 
but  the  ‘‘Trent”  affair  made  a very  painful  impression  upon  public  opinion 
in  both  countries — an  impression  of  active  hostility  and  bitterness  of  feeling 
which  was  slow  to  wear  off.  At  the  very  beginning  of  the  struggle,  upon 
receipt  of  the  news  of  President  Lincoln’s  proclamation  declaring  the 
Southern  ports  blockaded,  and  of  President  Davis’s  offer  to  provide  vessels 
with  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  against  the  commerce  of  the  United 
States,  both  England  and  France  had  issued  proclamations  of  neutrality, 
which  gave  to  the  Confederate  States  international  standing  as  belligerents. 
Apparently  foreign  governments  were  waiting  only  for  some  pronounced 
success  of  the  Southern  armies  to  recognize  the  independence  of  the  Con- 
federacy. 

Early  in  1862  the  area  and  plan  of  the  war  began  to  be  defined.  On 
the  one  hand,  the  long  sectional  frontier  was  broken  by  the  movement  of 
Federal  armies  down  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
fighting  grew  thick  and  fast  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  in  the  region  lying 
round  about  and  between  the  two  capitals,  Richmond  and  Washington.  In 
the  West  the  Federal  armies  were  almost  uniformly  successful  ; in  the  East 
almost  uniformly  unsuccessful.  “ On  the  6th  of  March,  1862,  a severe 
engagement  at  Pea  Ridge,  which  finally  secured  to  them  the  control  of 
Missouri.  A month  earlier  an  actual  invasion  of  the  seceding  States  had 
been  begun.  A land  force  under  Ulysses  S.  Grant  moved  up  the  Tennessee 
River,  in  co-operation  with  a fleet  of  gunboats  under  Commodore  Foote,  and 
on  February  6 took  Fort  Henry.  Immediately  crossing  to  the  Cumberland, 
Grant  captured  Fort  Donelson  on  the  river  on  the  i6th.  A Federal  forc^ 
under  General  Pope,  also  supported  by  gunboats,  then,  with  the  greatest 
difficulty,  cleared  the  Mississippi  of  the  Confederate  blockade  at  New 
Madrid  and  Island  Number  Ten.  Pushing  forward,  meanwhile,  the  plan  of 
securing  the  Mississippi  valley  and  opening  the  river,  Grant  advanced  up 
the  Tennessee,  seeking  to  reach  Corinth,  a railway  centre  of  northern 
Alississippi.  On  Sunda}^  morning,  April  6,  he  was  suddenly  checked  by 
16 


242 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


the  overwhelming  onset  of  a Confederate  force  commanded  by  General 
Albert  Sidney  Johnston.  The  day’s  fighting  drove  Grant  back  to  Pittsburg 
Landing.  Bnt  Federal  reinforcements  arrived  under  Bnell ; Johnston  had 
been  mortally  wounded  ; and  on  Monday  the  Confederates,  under  Beaure- 
gard, were  forced  to  retire.  Grant  followed  and  took  Corinth,  after  a siege, 
on  the  30th  of  May.  The  Mississippi  was  open  as  far  as  Vicksburg.  It 
had  been  opened  below  Vicksburg,  also,  by  the  surrender  of  New  Orleans  ; 
on  April  18  Commodore  Farragut  had  begun  the  bombardment  of  the  forts 
below  New  Orleans  ; unable  to  take  them  at  once,  he  had  daringly  run  his 
ships  past  them  on  the  24th,  and  on  the  28th  had  taken  the  city  ; after 
wFich  the  forts  presently  fell  into  his  hands.  Early  in  June  Memphis  was 
taken,  after  desperate  fighting,  by  the  river  forces  operating  above.” 

At  the  moment  when  the  Confederates  evacuated  Manassas  a strange 
naval  battle  occurred  in  Hampton  Roads.  The  insurgents  had  raised  the 
“ Merrimac,”  one  of  the  vessels  that  was  sunk  in  the  river  at  Norfolk,  and  had 
converted  it  into  an  iron-clad  warrior,  which  they  named  “ Virginia,”  com- 
manded by  Captain  Buchanan,  of  our  Navy.  On  the  8th  of  March  this 
vessel  attacked  and  destroyed  the  wooden  sailing  frigates,  ‘‘  Congress  ” and 
“ Cumberland,”  at  the  mouth  of  the  James  River,  and  it  was  expected  she 
would  annihilate  other  transports  and  w^ar  vessels  in  Hampton  Roads  the 
next  morning.  Anxiously  the  army  and  navy  officers  in  that  vicinity 
passed  the  night  of  the  8th.  There  seemed  to  be  no  competent  human 
agency  near  to  arrest  the  impending  disaster,  when,  at  a little  past  mid- 
night, a strange  craft  entered  the  Roads,  from  the  sea,  unheralded  and 
unknown.  It  appeared  like  a floating  platform,  sharp  at  both  ends,  lying 
almost  level  with  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  having  a round  tower  made 
of  heavy  iron.  This  tower  was  pierced  for  two  guns.  It  was  twent}^  feet  in 
diameter,  and  about  ten  feet  in  height  above  the  platform  ; and  it  was  made 
to  revolve  so  as  to  bring  its  heavy  guns  within  to  bear  upon  an  object,  inde- 
pendently of  the  position  of  the  vessel.  This  strange  craft  had  been  con- 
structed at  New  York  under  the  direction  of  the  eminent  civil  engineer  and 
scientist.  Captain  John  Ericsson,  and  took  the  name,  so  appropriate  after  its 
first  display  of  powder,  of  “ Alonitor.”  The  little  vessel  was  in  command  of 
Lieutenant  John  L.  Worden,  of  the  nav^y  and  had  been  towed  to  the  Roads, 
after  encountering  a heavy  gale  and  rolling  sea,  by  a steamship.  It  was  her 
trial-trip.  On  his  arrival,  Worden  reported  to  the  flag-officer  in  the  Roads, 
and  learning  of  the  situation  of  affairs  there,  he  promptly  prepared  to  meet 
the  iron-clad  monster  from  Norfolk  the  next  morning — the  Sabbath.  That 
morning  dawned  brightly,  and  in  the  gray  twilight  (March  9,  1862),  the 


and  ended  the  days  of  wooden  ships. 


FIRST  READING  OF  THE  EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION. 


THE  GREAT  REBET J JON 


243 


Merrimac  ” was  seen  sweeping  out  of  the  Elizabeth  River  on  its  destructive 
errand.  The  “Monitor, ” like  a little  David,  moved  to  meet  the  Confederate 
Goliath,  whose  commander  looked  with  contempt  upon  the  “ floating  cheese- 
box,”  as  he  called  his  strange  antagonist ; bnt  he  soon  found  it  to  be  a 
citadel,  strong,  and  well  filled  with  destructive  energy.  Her  revolving 
turret  was  invulnerable  to  the  heaviest  shot  and  shell  thrown  by  her  antag- 
onist, and  they  glanced  from  the  tower  like  pebbles  from  granite.  The 
conflict  that  ensued  was  terrific.  The  ponderous  missiles  hurled  from  the 
“ Monitor  ” soon  bruised  the  “ Merrimac  ” so  fatally  that  she  fled  up  to  Nor- 
folk, her  wounded  commander  confounded  by  the  energy  of  his  mysterious 
little  antagonist.  The  “ Merrimac  ” did  not  venture  out  again. 

Let  ns  bring  this  chapter  to  a close  with  a quotation  from  General 
Grant’s  account  of  the  great  battle  of  Shiloh : “ At  Shiloh  the  effective 

strength  of  the  Union  forces  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  was  thirty-three 
thousand  men.  Lew  Wallace  brought  five  thousand  more  after  nightfall. 
Beauregard  reported  the  enemy’s  strength  at  forty  thousand  three  hundred 
and  thirty-five.  According  to  the  custom  of  enumeration  in  the  South,  this 
number  probably  excluded  every  man  enlisted  as  musician  or  detailed  as 
guard  or  nurse,  and  all  commissioned  officers — everybody  who  did  not  carry 
a musket  or  serve  a cannon.  With  ns  everybod}^  in  the  field  receiving  pay 
from  the  Government  is  counted.  Excluding  the  troops  who  fled,  panic- 
stricken,  before  they  had  fired  a shot,  there  was  not  a time  during  the  6th 
when  we  had  more  than  twenty-five  thousand  men  in  line.  On  the  7th  Buell 
brought  twenty  thousand  more.  Of  his  remaining  two  divisions,  Thomas’ 
did  not  reach  the  field  dimiig  the  engagement ; Wood’s  arrived  before  firing 
had  ceased,  bnt  not  in  time  to  be  of  much  service.  Our  loss  in  the  two 
days’  fight  was  1,754  killed,  8,408  wounded,  and  2,885  missing.  Of  these 
2,103  were  in  the  Army  of  the  Ohio.  Beauregard  reported  a total  loss  of 
10,966,  of  whom  1,728  were  killed,  8,012  wounded,  and  959  missing.  This 
estimate  must  be  incorrect.  We  buried,  by  actual  count,  more  of  the 
enemy’s  dead  in  front  of  the  divisions  of  McClernand  and  Sherman  alone 
than  here  reported,  and  4,000  was  the  estimate  of  the  burial  parties  for  the 
whole  field.  Beauregard  reports  the  Confederate  force  on  the  6th  at  over 
40,000,  and  their  total  loss  during  the  two  days  at  10,699  5 same 

time  declares  that  he  could  put  only  20,000  men  in  battle  on  the  morning 
of  the  7th.  The  navy  gave  a hearty  support  to  the  army  at  Shiloh,  as, 
indeed,  it  always  did  both  before  and  subsequently  when  I was  in  command. 
The  nature  of  the  ground  was  such,  however,  that  on  this  occasion  it  could 
do  nothing  in  aid  of  the  troops  until  sundown  on  the  first  da3^  The 


244 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


country  was  broken  and  heavily  timbered,  cutting  off  all  views  of  the  battle 
from  the  river,  so  that  friends  would  be  as  much  in  danger  from  fire  from 
the  gunboats  as  the  foe.  But  about  sundown,  when  the  National  troops 
were  back  in  their  last  position,  the  right  of  the  enemy  was  near  the  river 
and  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  two  gunboats,  which  was  delivered  with  vigor 
and  effect.  After  nightfall,  when  firing  had  entirely  ceased  on  land,  the 
commander  of  the  fleet  informed  himself,  approximately,  of  the  position  of 
our  troops,  and  suggested  the  idea  of  dropping  a shell  within  the  lines  of 
the  enemy  every  fifteen  minutes  during  the  night.  This  was  done  with 
effect,  as  it  proved  by  the  Confederate  reports. 

“ Up  to  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  I,  as  well  as  thousands  of  other  citizens, 
believed  that  the  rebellion  against  the  Government  would  collapse  suddenly 
and  soon  if  a decisive  victory  could  be  gained  over  any  of  its  armies. 
Donelson  and  Henry  were  such  victories.  An  army  of  more  than  twenty- 
one  thousand  men  was  captured  or  destroyed.  Bowling  Green,  Columbus, 
and  Hickman,  Kentucky,  fell  in  consequence,  and  Clarksville  and  Nash- 
ville, Tennessee — the  last  two  with  an  immense  amount  of  stores — also  fell 
into  our  hands.  The  Tennessee  and  Cumberland  Rivers,  from  their  mouths 
to  the  head  of  navigation,  were  secured.  But  when  Confederate  armies  were 
collected  which  not  only  attempted  to  hold  a line  farther  south,  from 
hlemphis  to  Chattanooga,  Knoxville,  and  on  to  the  Atlantic,  but  assumed 
the  offensive  and  made  such  a gallant  effort  to  regain  what  had  been  lost, 
then,  indeed,  I give  up  all  idea  of  saving  the  Union  except  by  complete 
conquest.  Up  to  that  time  it  had  been  the  policy  of  our  army — certainl}^ 
of  that  portion  commanded  by  me — to  protect  the -property  of  the  citizens 
whose  territory  was  invaded  without  regard  to  their  sentiments,  whether 
Union  or  Secession.  After  this,  however,  I regarded  it  as  humane  to  both 
sides  to  protect  the  persons  of  those  found  at  their  homes,  but  to  consume 
everything  that  could  be  used  to  support  or  supply  armies.  Protection  was 
still  continued  over  such  supplies  as  were  within  lines  held  by  us  and 
which  we  expected  to  continue  to  hold  ; but  such  supplies  within  the  reach 
of  Confederate  armies  I regarded  as  much  contraband  as  arms  or  ordnance 
stores.  Their  destruction  was  accomplished  without  bloodshed  and  tended 
to  the  same  result  as  the  destruction  of  armies.  I continued  this  policy  to 
the  close  of  the  war.  Promiscuous  pillaging,  however,  was  discouraged  and 
punished.  Instructions  were  given  to  take  provisions  and  forage  under  the 
direction  of  commissioned  officers,  who  should  give  receipts  to  owners,  if  at 
home,  and  turned  the  property  over  to  officers  of  the  quartermaster  or  com- 
missary departments,  to  be  issued  as  if  furnished  from  our  Northern  depots. 


Copyrighted  1872,  by  P.  F.  Rothennel.  Published  by  J.  A.  Joel,  84  Nassau  Street,  New  York.  From  a painting  by  P.  F.  Rotherniel. 

BATTLE  OE  GETTYSBURG. 

Gettysburg  was  the  Waterloo  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  The  cause  of  secession  reached  high-water  mark  on  the  tlaming  days  of  July  1,2  and  3.  1863,  when, at  the  little  town  of  Gettysburg, 
Penna.,  the  veteran  Confederate  army, 80,000  strong,  under  the  lead  of  its  greatest  General,  fought  one  of  the  most  momentous  battles  of  modern  times,  with  a slightiy  larger  Union  force  under  General  Meade. 
The  Confederates  were  defeated,  with  a loss  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing  of  mor-  tlian  20,000,  while  the  Union  loss  was  23,000. 


j)-;  (]tORQE.DEVY'£iY 


\ GLH.Vv(i.R.5liAFT£R 


Gen. Geo.  Henry  Thom  AS 


'^^RY 


^^VidD-VO^ 


FAMOrs  AYfFTlKYW  SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS. 


(ieii.  r.S.  (inuit,  born  in  1822;  died  in  188o. 

Gen.  W.  T.  Slierinan,  born  in  1820;  died  in  1801. 
Gen.  (ieo.  I’,.  MeClellan,  liorn  in  1820;  died  in  188.5. 
Gen.  Win.  K.  .Sbafter,  boi  n in  18::0. 


Gen.  Geo.  II.  'riionias,  born  in  bSlG  ; died  in  1870. 
Adniiral  l>avid  I ».  Porter,  born  in  181;: ; died  in  1891. 
Gen.  Zaebary  Taylor,  born  in  1784;  died  in  1850. 

Gen.  Pbilip  II.  .Sheridan,  born  in  1881  ; died  in  1.8.88. 


Adniiral  George  Dewey,  liorn  in  18.88. 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


245 


But  inucli  was  destroyed  without  receipts  to  owners  when  it  could  not  be 
brought  within  our  lines  and  would  otherwise  have  gone  to  the  support  of 
secession  and  rebellion.  This  policy,  I believe,  exercised  a material  in- 
fluence in  hastening  the  end. 

“ The  battle  of  Shiloh,  or  Pittsburg  Landing,  has  been,  perhaps,  less 
understood,  or,  to  state  the  case  more  accurately,  more  persistently  misun- 
derstood, than  any  other  engagement  between  National  and  Confederate 
troops  during  the  entire  rebellion.” 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


(SEVENTH  DECADE) 

THE  GREAT  REBELLION  (CONTINUED) 

{^Resume. — The  reader  will  hold  in  mind  these  important  and  successive  events  in  the  earlier  stages  of 
the  Civil  War  : Fort  Sumter — Bull  Run — The  Mason  and  Slidell  Affair — Fort  Donelson — Pea  Ridge— 
the  “Monitor”  and  “ Merrimac  ” naval  duel — Shiloh.] 

Returning  to  the  peninsula  of  Virginia,  we  find  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  still  without  the  reinforcements  it  had  so  long  been  expect- 
ing. Free  to  seek  a new  base  of  operations  on  Janies  River,  or  to 
continue  resting  on  York  River,  McClellan  had  just  chosen  the  latter  alter- 
native, notwithstanding  its  dangers,  in  the  vain  hope  of  being  able  to  keep 
in  communication  with  McDowell’s  corps.  Before  resuming  his  march  he 
had  introduced  some  changes  in  the  composition  of  his  army  corps  ; for  the 
experience  acquired  at  the  battle  of  Williamsburg  had  shaken  whatever 
confidence  he  might  have  reposed  in  the  capacity  of  the  three  commanders 
who  had  been  forced  upon  him  by  the  President  at  the  opening  of  the  cam- 
paign. The  army  corps  had  been  reduced  to  five  in  number,  each  with  two 
divisions,  and  an  effective  force  of  from  fifteen  to  nineteen  thousand  men. 
This  subdivision  rendered  them  more  manageable,  while  the  command  of 
the  new  corps  fell,  by  right  of  seniority,  upon  Generals  Franklin  and  Fitz- 
John  Porter,  two  officers  for  whom  he  entertained  a particular  regard. 

The  Confederate  army  was  encamped  around  Richmond,  where  it  was 
receiving  reinforcements  forwarded  in  haste  from  every  section  of  the 
country.  Huger  arrived  with  twelve  thousand  men  from  Norfolk ; Branch, 
whose  defeat  at  Newberne  by  Burnside,  brought  nine  thousand  from  North 
Carolina,  and  others  were  yet  to  follow.  The  reconnoissance  of  the  Federal 
army  had  revealed  the  fact  that  the  abandonment  of  Bottom’s  Bridge  was  the 
last  step  in  Johnston’s  retreat.  The  latter  was  preparing  for  the  defence  of 
kleadow  Bridge  and  New  Bridge.  “The  nature  of  the  ground,”  says  Comte  de 
246 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


217 


Paris,  “was  perfectly  adapted  for  tins  purpose,  and  the  Federal  general  was  the 
less  likely  to  think  of  carrying  this  pass  by  main  force  because  he  could 
turn  it  by  the  lower  course  of  the  river,  of  which  he  had  control.  Every- 
thing, therefore,  urged  him  to  push  his  attacks  by  following  the  right  bank 
between  Bottom’s  Bridge  and  Richmond.  On  the  24th  of  May  his  left  wing, 
composed  of  the  corps  of  Keyes  and  Heintzelnian,  was  firml}^  posted  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Chickahominy,  and  placed  en  echelon  along  the  road  between 
Richmond  and  Williamsburg,  from  Bottom’s  Bridge  to  the  clearing  of  Seven 
Pines,  eleven  kilometres  from  Richmond.  The  rest  of  the  army  remained 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  river.  The  centre,  consisting  of  Snmner’s  corps, 
was  then  encamped  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  railroad  bridge ; the  two 
corps  commanded  by  Porter  and  Franklin,  forming  the  right  wing,  were 
posted  in  the  vicinity  of  Gaines’  Mill  and  Mechanicsville.  The  army  had 
occupied  these  positions  without  any  difficulty,  having  only  met  some  weak 
detachments  of  the  enemy  at  Seven  Pines  and  Mechanicsville,  which  were 
easily  repulsed.” 

Johnston,  in  his  turn,  threw  himself  npoii  a portion  of  McClellan’s 
army  at  Fair  Oaks,  before  the  rest  of  it  had  crossed  this  stream,  and  the 
Federal  forces  were  with  difficulty  saved  from  rout,  after  two  days’  fighting. 
Johnston  was  wounded  in  the  conflict,  and  General  Robert  E.  Lee  succeeded 
him  in  the  command.  McClellan  had  expected  to  be  joined  by  reinforce- 
ments under  McDowell,  but  the  brilliant  manoeuvres  of  another  Confederate 
commander  had  changed  the  plans  of  the  authorities  at  Washington.  This 
was  Thomas  J.  Jackson,  who  had  already  w^on  the  soubriquet  “ Stonewall,” 
by  his  steadfast  gallantry  in  making  stand  against  the  charges  of  the  enemy 
in  the  first  battle  of  Manassas.  By  a series  of  sudden  marches  and  sur- 
prises characteristic  of  his  genius,  he  had  cleared  the  Shenandoah  valley  of 
Federal  troops,  and  seeming  to  threaten  Washington,  had  kept  IMcDowell 
there  to  defend  the  seat  of  government.  Then  he  as  suddenly  turned  about 
and  carried  his  forces  down  by  rail  to  assist  Lee  against  McClellan.  To- 
gether Lee  and  Jackson  forced  McClellan  back  to  the  James  River,  hammer- 
ing at  him  irresistibly  for  seven  days.  ]\IcClellan  was  withdrawn  from  the 
command,  and  General  Pope  called  from  his  exploits  at  New  iMadrid  and 
Island  Number  Ten,  on  the  Mississippi,  to  take  his  place.  But  Pope  fared 
even  worse  than  McClellan.  By  a forced  march  through  the  mountains, 
Jackson  turned  his  flank  and  defeated  General  Banks,  in  command  of  the 
western  end  of  his  line,  at  Cedar  Alonntain,  August  9.  August  29  and  30 
a ''ombined  force  under  Pope  and  McClellan  was  routed  at  Aianassas  b}^ 
Lee  and  Jackson.  After  sending  out  a force  which  captured  Harper’s  Ferry, 


248 


THE.  GREAT  REBELLION 


with  its  arsenal  and  supplies  and  eleven  thousand  Federal  troops,  Lee 
• then  erossed  the  upper  Potomac  with  his  main  body,  entered  Maryland,  and 
fronted  the  Federal  army  again,  now  once  more  under  McClellan’s  command 
at  Antietam  Creek.  Hereon  September  17,  a battle  was  fought,  so  unde- 
cisive of  victory  that  Lee  recrossed  the  Potomac  and  retired  towards  his 
base  of  operations.  Still  experimenting  with  commanders,  the  Federal 
authorities  put  General  Burnside  at  the  head  of  the  unhappy  Arm3^  of  the 
Potomac.  December  13,  Burnside  threw  himself  upon  the  Confederate 
forces  occup^dng  Fredericksburg  heights,  and  was  repulsed  with  great  loss. 
Then  there  followed  a pause  until  the  spring. 

For  a year  and  half  now  Lincoln  had  maintained,  against  all  radical 
suggestions,  the  conservative  polic}^  with  which  he  had  set  out.  He  knew 
that  the  fighting  force  of  the  Union  must  come,  not  from  the  leaders  of 
parties,  who  were  thinking  fast  in  these  stirring  times,  but  from  the  mass 
of  unknown  men  who  were  thinking  more  slowly  and  upon  a narrower  scale. 
The  rank  and  file  of  the  nation,  when  the  struggle  began,  was  opposed  to 
an  abolition  war.  Had  the  war  been  short  and  immediately  decisive  for  the 
Union,  the  Federal  powers  would  not  have  touched  slavery  in  the  States. 
But  it  was  not  short.  It  was  so  long  and  so  stubborn  as  to  provoke  the 
sternest  resolutions  and  test  to  the  utmost  the  strength  and  persistence  of 
the  purposes  that  sustained  it.  And  as  its  strain  continued,  thought 
changed  and  purpose  expanded.  At  first  Mr.  Lincoln  had  promptl}^  checked 
all  attempts  to  set  free  the  negroes  in  the  territory  overrun  b}^  the  Federal 
armies.  But  b}^  September,  1862,  he  had  made  up  his  mind  that  it  would 
stimulate  the  forces  of  the  North  if  the  war  were  made  a war  against 
slaver}',  as  well  as  a war  for  the  Union,  and  that  it  would  at  the  same  time 
put  the  vSonth  in  the  wrong  before  the  opinion  of  the  world,  and  imperatively 
prevent  that  foreign  recognition  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  which  he 
dreaded.  He  waited  only  for  some  victory  in  the  field  to  furnish  a dignified 
opportunity  for  the  step  he  contemplated.  Antietam  served  his  purpose 
sufficient!}'  well  ; and  on  the  2 2d  of  September  he  issued  a proclamation 
which  gave  formal  notice  that  unless  the  Southern  States  yielded  allegiance 
to  the  Union  within  a hundred  days  thereafter,  he  should  declare  the  slaves 
within  their  limits  free.  On  the  ist  of  January,  1863,  accordingly  he  put 
forth  a formal  proclamation  of  emancipation.  The  act  was  of  course  without 
constitutional  warrant  ; it  carried  no  other  authority  than  that  which  the 
President  exercised  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  military  forces  of  the 
government.  x\s  an  act  of  military  power  he  could  set  free  the  negroes 
within  territory  occupied  by  the  Federal  armies,  but  his  proclamation  could 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


249 


not  abolish  a legal  institution.  It  served  its  purpose,  nevertheless,  as  an 
announceinent  of  policy. 

In  the  spring  of  1863  inilitary  operations  began  again  upon  the  fields 
of  the  previous  3^ear.  After  Fredericksburg,  General  Hooker  had  taken 
Burnside’s  place  in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Attempting  a 
movement  upon  Richmond,  Hooker  met  the  forces  of  Lee  and  Jackson  at 
Chancellorsville,  on  the  second  and  third  days  of  Ma^^  and  was  disastrously 
defeated.  The  Confederates,  however,  suffered  the  irreparable  loss  of 
“Stonewall”  Jackson,  killed  by  tragical  mistake,  by  pickets  of  his  own 
force.  Following  up  his  advantage,  Lee  again  ventured  upon  a forward 
movement  and  invaded  Pennsylvania.  Here,  at  GetG^sburg,  he  met  General 
Meade,  and  was  repulsed  with  heavy  losses.  The  Federal  troops  were 
strongly  posted  and  intrenched  ; for  three  days — the  first  three  of  Jul}^ — 
Lee’s  army  beat  upon  them,  and  the  second  day  saw  their  lines  partly 
driven  in,  their  position  partly  taken.  But  on  the  third  day  the  lost  ground 
was  recovered  and  Lee  withdrew,  his  army  almost  decimated.  Almost  at 
the  same  time  Vicksburg  on  the  Mississippi  fell  before  Grant’s  persistent 
attack.  The  defense  of  Vicksburg  had  been  stubborn,  prolonged,  heroic, 
and  almost  successful.  Plan  after  plan  of  attack  had  been  tried  b}^  General 
Grant  and  had  failed.  Finally,  occupying  the  country  back  of  the  strong- 
hold, and  taking  Jackson,  the  capital  of  the  State,  he  succeeded  in  shutting 
up  the  Confederate  forces  under  General  Pemberton  in  the  fortress.  His 
assaults  upon  its  works  being  always  repulsed,  he  sat  down  to  a regular 
siege,  and  in  that  way  forced  the  garrison  to  surrender  to  him,  half  starved, 
on  the  4th  of  July.  July  9,  Port  Hudson,  below,  the  only  remaining  Con- 
federate stronghold  on  the  river,  yielded  to  General  Banks  and  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  situation,  and  the  Mississippi  was  commanded  throughout  its 
entire  length  b}^  the  Federal  powers.  Louisiana  and  Texas  were  cut  off 
from  the  rest  of  the  Confederacy. 

Presentl}^  the  Union  armies  were  pushed  forward  directl}^  towards  the 
heart  of  the  Confederacy.  After  the  evacuation  of  Corinth,  Mississippi,  by 
General  Beauregard  in  the  preceding  May,  General  Braxton  Bragg  had  taken 
some  thirty-five  thousand  of  the  Confederate  force  by  rail  to  Mobile  and  thence 
northward  again  to  Chattanooga,  which  he  occupied.  From  Chattanooga  as 
a base  he  moved  upon  Louisville,  Kentucky  ; but  an  army  under  General 
Buell  was  too  quick  for  him,  checking  him  in  a decisive  action  at  Penyville, 
October  8,  1862,  and  necessitating  his  retirement  at  Chattanooga.  General 
Van  Dorn  had  taken  advantage  of  this  diversion  to  lead  a Confederate  force 
against  Corinth,  and  had  almost  possessed  himself  of  the  town  when  he 


250 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


was  driven  back  General  Rosecrans,  on  the  second  day  of  desperate 
fighting,  October  4,  1862.  Step  by  step  the  operations  of  the  two  armies 
were  transferred  to  the  central  strongholds  of  Tennessee  and  Georgia. 
Rosecrans  succeeded  Buell  in  command  of  the  Federal  forces  in  Tennessee, 
and  just  as  the  year  1862  was  closing  and  1863  opening  (December  31 
to  January  2),  he  encountered  Bragg  in  three  days’  terrible  fighting  around 
Murfreesboro.  The  Federal  force  held  its  ground  against  Bragg’s  terrific 
attacks,  or,  having  lost,  regained  it,  and  Bragg  withdrew.  Forced  back  b}^ 
the  movements  of  the  Federal  armies  during  the  summer  and  autumn  of 
1863,  Bragg  felt  obliged  to  leave  even  Chattanooga  itself  to  them;  but  at 
Chickamanga,  Georgia,  on  the  19th  and  20th  of  September  he  made  a stand 
against  Rosecrans  and  inflicted  upon  him  a defeat  which  nothing  but  the 
extraordinar}^  coolness  and  firmness  of  General  Thomas,  who  commanded 
the  left  Federal  wing,  prevented  from  becoming  the  most  overwhelming 
Federal  disaster  of  the  war. 

General  Grant  now  came  from  his  success  at  Vicksburg  to  take  charge 
of  the  army  which  Bragg  had  shut  up  in  Chattanooga.  Taking  advantage 
of  the  absence  of  a portion  of  Bragg’s  besieging  force,  sent  to  meet  Burn- 
side in  eastern  Tennessee,  Grant  attacked  Bragg’s  positions  upon  Missionary 
Ridge  and  Lookout  Mountain,  November  24  and  25,  with  such  force  and 
success  as  to  compel  him  to  break  up  the  siege  and  retreat.  Bragg  fell  back 
to  Dalton.  General  Longstreet,  with  the  force  which  Bragg  had  sent  into 
eastern  Tennessee,  crossed  the  mountain  and  joined  Lee  in  Virginia.  Then 
came  the  winter’s  pause  of  arms. 

Such  is  a rapid  survey  of  the  field  of  operations  East  and  West.  It  is 
necessary,  however,  to  dwell  upon  the  two  decisive  events,  at  Gettysburg 
and  Vicksburg. 

First  as  to  Gettysburg.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  one  hundred 
thousand  strong.  It  had  been  thrown  across  the  river  into  Maryland,  at 
and  near  Edwards’  Ferry.  Halleck  (the  general-in-chief  ) and  Hooker  dif- 
fered most  decidedly  in  opinions  about  some  important  military  movements 
that  were  proposed,  when  the  latter  resigned  and  was  succeeded  by  General 
George  G.  Meade,  who  held  the  command  of  that  army  until  the  close  of 
the  war.  Meade  entered  his  duties  at  Frederick  (June  28),  in  Maryland, 
where  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  lay,  ready  to  strike  Lee’s  communications 
or  to  attack  him  as  circumstances  might  dictate.  Lee  was  preparing  to 
cross  the  Susquehanna  and  push  on  to  Philadelphia,  when  news  reached 
him  that  the  reinforced  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  threatening  his  flanks 
and  rear.  Alarmed  by  this  intelligence  and  the  rapid  gathering  of  the 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


251 


yeomanry  on  liis  front,  lie  ordered  tlie  concentration  of  his  army  near  Gettys- 
burg, with  the  intention  of  crushing  Meade’s  forces  by  a single  blow,  and  then 
marching  on  to  Baltimore  and  Washington  ; or,  in  case  of  failure,  to  secure 
a direct  line  of  retreat  into  Virginia.  In  the  meantiiiie  Meade  was  pushing 
towards  the  Susquehanna  with  cautious  movement ; and  on  the  evening  of 
the  30th  of  June  he  discovered  Lee’s  evident  intention  to  give  battle  at  once. 

The  National  cavalry,  meanwhile,  had  been  carefulh^  reconnoitering ; 
and  on  the  previous  day  Killpatrick’s  mounted  men  had  a sharp  fight  at 
Hanover,  a few  miles  from  Gettysburg,  with  some  of  Stuart’s  cavalry,  and, 
assisted  by  General  Custer,  defeated  them.  Buford’s  division  of  National 
cavalry  entered  Gettysburg  the  same  day,  and  the  next  day  the  left  wing 
of  Meade’s  army,  led  b}^  General  J.  F.  Reynolds,  arrived  near  there.  At  the 
same  time  the  corps  of  Hill  and  Longstreet  were  approaching  from  Chani- 
bersburg,  and  Elwell  was  marching  from  Carlisle  in  full  force.  That  night 
Buford’s  cavalry,  six  thousand  strong,  encamped  between  Reynolds  and 
Hill.  On  the  morning  of  the  ist  of  July,  Buford  met  the  van  of  Lee’s 
army,  led  by  General  Heth,  between  Seminary  Ridge,  a little  out  of  Get- 
tysburg, and  a parallel  ridge  a little  further  west,  where  a sharp  skirmish 
ensued.  Reynolds,  who  was  a few  miles  distant,  hastened  to  the  relief  of 
Buford,  and  in  a severe  battle  that  followed,  he  was  killed,  and  General 
Abner  Doubleday  took  command  of  his  troops.  In  the  meantime  General 
O.  O.  Howard  came  up  with  his  corps.  Lee’s  troops  were  then  concentrated 
there,  and  the  battle  soon  assumed  grander  proportions.  The  Nationals 
were  finally  pressed  back,  and  under  the  general  direction  of  Howard,  they 
took  a strong  position  on  a range  of  rocky  hills  near  Gettysburg,  of  which 
Culp’s  Hill  and  Little  Round  Top  were  the  two  extremes  of  the  line,  and 
Cemetery  Hill,  at  the  village,  was  the  apex.  There  the  Nationals  rested 
that  night,  and  the  Confederates  occupied  Seminary  Ridge. 

General  Meade,  with  the  remainder  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  now 
hastened  to  Gettysburg,  and  he  and  Lee  prepared  cautiously  to  renew  the 
battle.  It  did  not  begin  until  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  of  the  2d,  when 
Lee  fell,  with  great  weight,  upon  Meade’s  left  wing  commanded  by  General 
Sickles.  A most  sanguinary  battle  ensued,  extending  to  the  centre  on 
Cemetery  Hill,  where  General  Hancock  was  in  command.  Heav}^  masses 
of  Confederates  were  hurled  against  him,  and  these  were  thrown  back  with 
fearful  losses  on  both  sides.  Meanwhile  there  had  been  a terrible  struggle 
on  the  right  and  centre  of  the  Nationals,  where  Generals  Slocum  and 
Howard  were  in  command,  the  former  on  Culp’s  Hill,  and  the  latter  on 
Cemetery  Hill.  Against  these  a large  portion  of  Ewell’s  corps  had  been 


252 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


sent.  The  latter  were  pushed  back  by  Howard,  but  seized  and  occupied  the 
works  of  Slocum,  ou  the  extreme  right  of  Culp’s  Hill,  that  night.  The 
battle  ended  at  sunset  ou  the  left,  but  it  was  continued  until  about  ten 
o’clock  that  night  ou  the  right. 

Slocum  renewed  the  battle  at  four  o’clock  on  the  morning  of  the  3d, 
when  he  drove  the  Confederates  out  of  his  line  after  a hard  struggle  for 
four  hours.  There  he  held  Ewell  in  check,  while  the  contest  raged  else- 
where. Lee,  perceiving  the  Little  Round  Top — a steep,  rocky  eminence — 
to  be  impregnable,  proceeded,  at  a little  past  noon,  to  attack  the  more 
vulnerable  centre.  Upon  this  he  opened  one  hundred  and  forty-five  heavy 
cannon,  chiefly  against  Cemetery  Hill  and  its  vicinity,  occupied  by  Meade’s 
centre.  A hundred  National  great  guns  quickly  answered ; and  for  two 
hours  a fearful  cannonade  that  shook  the  country  around  was  kept  up. 
Then  the  Confederates,  in  heavy  columns,  preceded  by  a cloud  of  skir- 
mishers, swept  over  the  plain  and  assailed  the  National  line  with  great  fury. 
It  was  intended  by  Lee  to  give  a crushing  blow  that  should  ensure  victory. 
A terrible  struggle  followed  that  covered  the  ground  with  the  slain — men 
and  horses.  At  sunset  the  Confederates  were  repulsed  at  all  points ; and 
the  decisive  battle  of  Gettysburg  ended  in  triumph  for  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac.  In  that  fearful  struggle,  the  Nationals  lost  in  killed,  wounded, 
and  missing,  over  twenty-three  thousand  men ; the  Confederates  lost  about 
thirty  thousand,  including  fourteen  thousand  prisoners.  On  the  evening 
of  the  day  of  the  battle  (July  4,  1863),  Lee  began  a retreat  toward  Virginia, 
followed  the  next  day  by  Meade,  who  pursued  as  far  as  the  Potomac,  which 
had  been  filled  to  the  brim  by  heavy  rains  ; but  the  Confederate  leader,  by 
skilful  management,  kept  the  Nationals  at  bay  until  he  had  made  ready  to 
cross  that  stream  by  pontoons  and  fording.  This  he  did  with  his  shattered 
army,  his  artillery  and  trains,  on  the  14th  of  July,  much  to  the  disappoint- 
ment of  the  loyal  people.  Perceiving  the  battle  to  be  a decisive  one  in 
favor  of  the  Union  cause,  and  believing  it  to  be  a turning  point  in  the  war,  the 
President  of  the  United  States  recommended  the  people  to  observe  the  15th 
of  August  next  ensuing  as  a day  of  public  national  thanksgiving,  praise, 
and  prayer.  And  the  Secretary  of  State  (Mr.  Seward),  satisfied  that  the 
insurrection  would  soon  be  ended  by  the  discomfiture  of  its  supporters,  sent 
a cheering  circular  to  the  diplomatic  agents  of  the  Republic  abroad,  in  which 
he  recited  the  most  important  events  of  the  war  to  that  time  ; declared  that 
“the  country  showed  no  sign  of  exhaustion  of  mone^q  material,  or  men; 
that  one  loan  was  purchased  at  par  by  our  citizens  at  the  rate  of  one  million 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars  daily  and  that  gold  was  selling  in  our 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


253 


markets  at  twenty-three  to  twenty-eight  per  cent,  premium,  while  in  the 
insurrectionary  region  it  commanded  twelve  hundred  per  cent,  premium. 

In  his  retrospect  of  the  Vicksburg  campaign  General  Grant  says  : “The 
capture  of  Vicksburg,  with  its  garrison,  ordnance,  and  ordnance  stores,  and 
the  successful  battles  fought  in  reaching  them,  gave  new  spirit  to  the  loyal 
people  of  the  North.  New  hopes  for  the  final  success  of  the  cause  of  the 
Union  were  inspired.  The  victory  gained  at  Gettysburg  upon  the  same 
day,  added  to  their  hopes.  Now  the  Mississippi  River  was  entirely  in  the 
possession  of  the  National  troops  ; for  the  fall  of  Vicksburg  gave  us  Port 
Hudson  at  once.  The  army  of  Northern  Virginia  was  driven  out  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  forced  back  to  about  the  same  ground  it  occupied  in  i86i. 
The  Army  of  the  Tennessee  united  with  the  Army  of  the  Gulf,  dividing 
the  Confederate  States  completely.  At  Vicksburg  31,600  prisoners  were 
surrendered,  with  172  cannon,  about  60,000  muskets,  and  a large  amount  of 
ammunition.  The  small  arms  of  the  enemy  were  far  superior  to  the  bulk 
of  ours.  Up  to  this  time  our  troops  at  the  West  had  been  limited  to  the  old 
United  States  fiint-lock  muskets  changed  into  percussion,  or  the  Belgian 
muskets  imported  early  in  the  war — almost  as  dangerous  to  the  person 
firing  it  as  to  the  one  aimed  at — and  a few  new  and  improved  arms.  The 
campaign  of  Vicksburg  was  suggested  and  developed  by  circumstances. 
The  elections  of  1862  had  gone  against  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  Volun- 
tary enlistments  had  nearly  ceased  and  the  draft  had  been  resorted  to  ; this 
was  resisted,  and  a defeat  or  backward  movement  would  have  made  its  exe- 
cution impossible.  A forward  movement  to  a decisive  victory  was  necessary. 
Accordingly  I resolved  to  get  below  Vicksburg,  unite  with  Banks  against 
Port  Hudson,  make  New  Orleans  a base,  and,  with  that  base  and  Grand 
Gulf  as  a starting  point,  move  our  combined  forces  against  Vicksburg.  Upon 
reaching  Grand  Gulf,  after  running  its  batteries  and  fighting  a battle,  I 
received  a letter  from  Banks  informing  me  that  he  could  not  be  at  Port 
Hudson  under  ten  days,  and  then  with  only  fifteen  thousand  men.  The 
time  was  worth  more  than  the  reinforcements  ; I therefore  determined  to 
push  into  the  interior  of  the  enemy’s  country.  With  a large  river  behind 
us,  held  above  and  below  by  the  enemy,  rapid  movements  were  essential  to 
success.  Jackson  was  captured  the  day  after,  a new  commander  had  arrived, 
and  only  a few  days  before  large  reinforcements  were  expected.  A rapid  move- 
ment west  was  made  ; the  garrison  of  Vicksburg  was  met  in  two  engagements 
and  badly  defeated  and  driven  back  into  its  stronghold  and  there  success- 
fully besieged.  It  looks  now  as  though  Providence  had  directed  the  course  of 
the  campaign,  while  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  executed  the  decree.” 


I 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

(SEVENTH  DECADE) 

THE  GREAT  REBELLION  (CONTINUED) 

\_Resumi. — We  followed  the  progress  of  the  war  in  our  last  chapter  from  McClellan’s  campaign  in 
Virginia  on  to  Gettysburg.] 

During  the  later  years  of  the  war  the  North  exerted  her  giant 
strength  to  the  utmost,  in  order  to  crush  the  stubborn  defence  of 
the  revolted  States.  She  had  a million  men  under  arms.  She  had 
six  hundred  ships-of-war.  Her  people  supplied  freely,  although  on  terms 
whose  severity  patriotism  did  not  appear  to  modify,  the  means  of  an  enor- 
mous expenditure.  Her  own  factories  worked  night  and  day  to  provide 
military  stores  ; and  their  efforts  were  freely  supplemented  by  the  dock- 
yards and  foundries  of  Europe.  Peaceful  America  Avas  for  the  time  the 
greatest  military  power  of  the  world.  Her  soldiers  had  gained  the  skill  of 
veterans.  Among  her  generals  men  had  been  found  worthy  to  direct  the 
vast  forces  of  the  republic.  Grant,  Sherman,  Thomas,  Sheridan,  in  especial, 
had  given  evidence  of  their  possession  of  high  military  capacity. 

While  these  enormous  powers  were  called  into  action  for  attack,  it 
became  obvious  that  the  resources  of  the  South  for  defence  were  rapidly 
approaching  exhaustion.  Her  isolation  was  almost  complete.  From  time 
to  time  an  adventurous  ship  stole  in  her  harbors,  and  sold,  at  excessive 
prices,  a welcome  supply  of  arms  and  clothing.  But  these  precarious  sup- 
plies were  wholly  inadequate  to  the  need.  The  South  was  in  destitution  of 
every  article  required  for  the  prosecution  of  a great  war.  Her  government 
was  in  utter  poverty,  having  no  better  representative  of  money  than  a 
worthless  paper  currency,  which  was  forced  upon  the  reluctant  acceptance 
of  creditors.  Her  flag  was  unseen  on  the  ocean,  excepting  where  it  was 
carried  by  two  or  three  piratical  vessels  which  preyed  upon  the  commerce 
of  the  North.  . Her  soldiers,  forced  into  the  ranks,  freed  themselves  by 
254 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


255 


desertion  from  a service  wliicli  they  knew  to  be  hopeless.  And  yet  the  skill 
with  which  these  failing  resources  were  directed  by  General  Lee  sufficed  to 
gain  important  advantages,  and  shed  lustre  over  a doomed  cause.  In  the 
third  year  of  the  war  Lee  repulsed  with  heavy  loss  eveiy  effort  which  was 
made  in  the  direction  of  Richmond. 

General  Grant,  coming  victorious  from  the  West,  was  raised  to  the  chief 
command  of  the  Union  forces,  and  summoned  to  direct  a campaign  which 
all  men  expected  to  be  final.  Lee,  unable  now  to  gather  more  than  sixty 
thousand  men  around  his  standards,  held  a position  in  the  Wilderness,  a 
desolate  region  of  northern  Virginia,  where  he  awaited  the  attack  of  his 
powerful  antagonist.  Grant,  with  a magnificent  army  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  veterans,  crossed  the  Rapidan.  Eight  days  of  continuous 
fighting  ensued.  It  was  Lee’s  practice  to  throw  up  earthworks,  which  served 
to  equalize  the  otherwise  unequal  strength  of  the  combatants.  When  Grant 
found  himself  unable  to  force  these  defences,  he  passed  southward  by  the 
flank  of  his  enemy,  compelling  Lee  constantly  to  retire  to  a new  position. 
Frightful  losses  were  sustained.  In  one  week  Grant  lost  thirty  thousand 
men.  The  Southern  losses  were  proportionately  heavy.  But  Grant  had 
ample  resources  from  which  to  recruit  his  ranks,  while  Lee  was  irreparably 
weakened.  Grant  fought  his  way  southward  until  both  armies  stood  twenty 
miles  beyond  Richmond  before  the  little  town  of  Petersburg. 

In  his  succinct  and  admirable  narrative  of  the  collapse  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, Professor  Andrews  remarks  that  Grant,  as  Lee  said  of  him,  “was  not 
a retreating  man.”  If  he  had  not  beaten,  neither  had  he  been  beaten. 
Advance  was  the  word.  On  the  night  of  May  7 he  began  the  series  of 
“ movements  by  the  left  flank  ” which  was  to  force  Lee  forever  from  the 
Rappahannock  front.  An  early  morning  attack  on  the  12th  carried  a 
salient  angle  in  the  centre  of  the  Confederate  line,  securing  four  thousand 
prisoners  and  twenty  guns.  All  that  day  and  far  into  the  night  Lee  des- 
perately strove  to  dislodge  the  assailants  from  this  “bloody  angle.”  Five 
furious  charges  were  stubbornly  repulsed,  the  belligerents  between  grimly 
facing  each  other  from  lines  of  rifle-pits  often  but  a few  feet  apart. 
“ Bullets  flew  thick  as  hail,  a tree  eighteen  inches  through  being  cut  clean 
off  by  them.”  Great  heaps  of  dead  and  wounded  lay  between  the  lines, 
and  “ at  times  a lifted  arm  or  a quivering  limb  told  of  an  agony  not 
quenched  by  the  Lethe  of  death  around.”  Lee  did  not  give  up  this  death- 
grapple  until  three  o’clock  in  the  morning,  when  he  fell  back  to  a new  posi- 
tion. His  losses,  in  killed  and  wounded  were  about  five  thousand  ; Grant’s 
about  six  thousand. 


256 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


Rains  now  compelled  the  armies  to  rest.  Meantime  news  reached 
Grant  that  Butler,  who  was  to  have  moved  up  the  Janies  River  with  his 
army  of  twenty  thousand  and  cooperate  with  the  main  army  against 
Richmond,  had  “ suffered  ” himself  to  be  “ bottled  up  ” at  Bermuda  Hundred, 
a narrow  spit  of  land  between  the  Janies  and  Appomattox  Rivers,  the  Con- 
federates having  “ driven  in  the  cork.”  Reinforcements  reached  Grant, 
however,  which  made  good  all  his  losses.  On  the  19th,  after  an  unsuccessful 
assault  the  day  before,  he  resumed  the  flanking  movement.  But  Lee  pushed 
in  and  forced  Grant  to  the  south,  and,  moving  on  shorter  lines,  reached  Cold 
Harbor  before  Grant.  The  outer  line  of  Confederate  entrenchments  in  this 
famous  and  deadly  battle  was  carried  on  June  i,  and  at  dawn  on  the  3d 
there  was  a charge  along  the  whole  front.  “ Under  cover  of  a heav}^  artil- 
lery fire  the  men  advanced  to  the  enemy’s  rifle  pits  and  carried  them. 
They  then  swept  on  towards  the  main  line.  The  ground  was  open  and  the 
advancing  columns  were  exposed  to  a terrible  storm  of  iron  and  lead.  Ar- 
tiller}^  cross-fire  swept  through  their  ranks  from  right  to  left.  The  troops 
pressed  close  up  to  the  works  but  could  not  carry  them.  They  entrenched, 
however,  and  held  the  position  gained,  at  same  points  within  thirty  3mrds 
of  the  hostile  ramparts.  The  Union  loss  w^as  very  heavy  ; not  less  than 
six  thousand ; the  Confederates,  fighting  under  shelter,  lost  comparativel}^ 
few.” 

During  the  next  ten  days  the  men  lay  quietly  in  their  trenches.  Both 
forces  had  moved  so  far  south  that  Grant’s  hope  of  getting  between  Lee’s 
army  and  Richmond  had  to  be  abandoned.  He  therefore  decided  to 
cross  the  James  and  take  a position  south  of  Richmond,  whence  he  could 
threaten  its  lines  of  communication,  while  that  river  would  furnish  him  a 
secure  base  of  supplies.  The  two  hosts  now  moved  toward  Petersburg,  an 
important  railway  centre  south  of  Richmond.  Grant’s  advance  reached  the 
town  first,  but  dela^^ed  earnest  attack,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  Lee’s 
veterans,  after  an  all-night’s  march,  awaited  attack  in  the  entrenchments. 
Grant  spent  the  next  four  da3^s  in  vain  efforts  to  dislodge  them.  On  the 
19th  he  gave  up  the  method  of  assault,  and  began  a regular  siege.  His 
losses  in  killed  and  wounded  thereabouts  had  been  almost  nine  thousand. 
Matters  remained  comparatively  quiet  till  late  in  Jul}^  Both  sides  were 
busy  strengthening  their  entrenchments.  Lee  held  both  Richmond  and 
Petersburg  in  force,  besides  a continuous  line  between  the  two.  Attempts 
to  break  this  line  and  to  cut  the  railroads  around  Petersburg  led  to  several 
engagements  which  w^ould  have  been  considered  great  battles  earlier  in  the 


war. 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


257 


Grant’s  total  losses  from  the  crossing  of  the  Rapidan  to  the  end  of 
June  were  sixty-one  thousand,  but  reinforcements  proniptl}^  filled  his 
ranks.  The  Confederate  loss  cannot  be  accurately  determined,  but  was 
probably  about  two- thirds  as  great.  Through  July  one  of  Burnside’s  regi- 
ments, composed  of  Pennsylvanians,  used  to  such  business,  had  been  work- 
ing at  a mine  under  one  of  the  main  redoubts  in  front  of  Petersburg.  A 
shaft  five  hundred  feet  in  length  ran  at  the  end  squarely  under  the  redoubt. 
This  chamber  was  charged  with  eight  thousand  pounds  of  powder,  which  was 
fired  July  30.  The  battery  and  brigade  immediately  overhead  was  blown 
into  the  air,  and  the  Confederate  soldiers,  far  to  left  and  right,  were  stunned 
and  stupefied  with  terror.  For  half  an  hour  the  way  into  Petersburg  was 
open.  Why  did  none  enter?  The  answer  is  sad.  Grant  had  splendidly 
fulfilled  his  part  by  a feint  to  Deep  Bottom  across  the  James,  which  had 
drawn  thither  all  but  about  one  division  of  Lee’s  Petersburg  force.  But 
Meade,  at  a late  hour  on  the  29th,  changed  the  entire  plan  of  assault,  which 
Burnside  had  carefully  arranged,  and  to  lead  which  a fresh  division  had 
been  specially  drilled.  Then  there  was  lamentable  inefficiency  or  cowardice 
on  the  part  of  several  subordinate  ofiicers.  The  troops  charged  into  the 
great,  cellar-like  crater,  twenty-five  feet  deep,  where,  for  lack  of  orders,  they 
remained  huddled  together  instead  of  pushing  on.  The  Confederates 
rallied,  and  after  shelling  the  crater  till  more  of  its  occupants  were  dead 
than  alive,  charged  and  either  routed  the  living  or  took  them  prisoners. 

During  the  summer  and  fall  of  1864  scene  of  active  operations  was 
shifted  to  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  The  latter  part  of  June  Lee  sent  Earl 34 
twenty  thousand  strong,  to  make  a demonstration  against  Washington, 
hoping  to  scare  Grant  away  from  Petersburg.  Earl 3^  moved  rapid^^  down 
the  valle3q  hustling  Hunter  before  him,  who  escaped  only  by  making  a 
detour  to  the  west,  thus  leaving  Washington  open.  Thither  Early  pushed 
with  all  speed.  General  Lew  Wallace  hastily  gathered  up  the  few  troops  at 
his  disposal  and  hurried  out  from  Baltimore  to  meet  him.  Wallace  was 
defeated  at  the  Monocacy  River,  July  9,  but  precious  time  was  gained  for 
the  strengthening  of  Washington.  When  Early  arrived  before  the  cit3^  on 
the  nth.  Grant’s  reinforcements  had  not  3^et  come  and  the  fate  of  the 
capital  trembled  in  the  balance.  Early  happily  delayed  his  attack  till  the 
morrow,  and  that  night  two  of  Grant’s  veteran  corps  landed  in  Washington, 
President  Lincoln,  in  his  anxiety,  being  on  the  wharf  to  meet  them.  Once 
more  Washington  was  safe,  and  Early  fell  back,  pressed  by  the  new-comers. 
The  pursuit  was  feeble,  however,  and  the  last  of  July  Early  swooped  down 
the  valley  again.  A detachment  pushed  into  Penns3dvania  and  burned 


258 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


Chambersburg.  All  tlirougli  the  war  the  Confederate  operations  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley  had  been  an  anno\^ance  and  a menace.  Grant  now 
determined  to  put  a definite  stop  to  this,  and  sent  the  dashing  General 
Sheridan  for  the  work  with  thirty  thousand  troops,  including  eight  thousand 
cavalry.  Sheridan  pushed  Early  up  the  Shenandoah,  defeating  him  at 
Opequon  Creek,  September  19,  and  at  Fisher’s  Hill  two  days  later. 

One-half  of  Early’s  army  had  been  destroyed  or  captured,  and  the  rest 
driven  southward.  Sheridan  then,  in  accordance  with  Grant’s  orders,  that 
the  enemy  might  no  longer  make  it  a base  of  operations  against  the  capital, 
laid  waste  the  valle}^  so  thoroughly  that,  as  the  saying  went,  not  a crow 
could  fly  up  or  down  it  without  carr^dng  rations.  In  spite  of  this.  Early, 
having  been  reinforced,  entered  the  valley  once  more.  The  Union  army 
lay  at  Cedar  Creek.  Sheridan  had  gone  to  Washington  on  business,  leav- 
ing General  Wright  in  command.  On  the  night  of  October  18  the  wily 
Confederate  crept  around  to  the  rear  of  the  Union  left  and  attacked  at  day- 
break. Wright  was  completely  surprised,  and  his  left  wing  fled  precipi- 
tately, losing  one  thousand  prisoners  and  eighteen  guns.  He  ordered  a 
retreat  to  Winchester.  The  right  fell  slowly  back  in  good  order,  interposing 
a steady  front  between  Early  and  the  demoralized  left.  Meanwhile  Sheridan, 
who  had  reached  Winchester  on  his  return,  snuffed  battle,  and  hurried  to 
the  scene.  Now  came  “ Sheridan’s  Ride.”  Astride  the  coal-black  charger 
immortalized  by  Buchanan  Read’s  verse,  he  shot  ahead  and  dashed  upon 
the  battlefield  shortly  before  noon,  his  horse  dripping  with  foam.  His 
presence  restored  confidence,  and  the  army  steadily  awaited  the  expected 
assault.  It  came,  was  repulsed,  then  totally  routed,  and  the  army  nearly 
destroyed.  It  was  one  of  the  most  signal  and  telling  victories  of  the  war. 
In  a month’s  campaign  Sheridan  had  killed  and  wounded  ten  thousand  of 
the  eiieni}^  and  taken  thirteen  thousand  prisoners.  All  this  time  the  siege  of 
Petersburg  was  sturdily  pressed.  In  August,  Grant  got  possession  of  the 
Weldon  Railroad,  an  important  line  running  south  from  Petersburg.  Dur- 
iiicf  the  next  month  fortifications  on  the  Richmond  side  of  the  Janies  were 
carried  and  held.  Through  the  winter  Grant  contented  himself  with  grad- 
ually extending  his  lines  around  Petersburg,  tiying  to  cut  Lee’s  communi- 
cations, and  preventing  his  sending  troops  against  Sherman.  He  had  a 
death-grip  upon  the  Confederacy’s  throat,  and  waited  with  confidence  for  the 
contortions  which  should  announce  its  death. 

The  spring  of  1865  the  South  reduced  to  the  last  extremity. 

The  blockade  had  shut  out  imports,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  ever  before  so  large 
and  populous  a region  was  so  far  from  being  self-sustaining.  Even  of  food 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


259 


products,  save  corn  and  bacon,  the  dearth  became  desperate.  Wheat  bread 
and  salt  were  luxuries  almost  from  the  first.  Home-made  shoes,  with 
wooden  soles  and  uppers  cut  from  buggy  tops  or  old  pocketbooks,  became 
the  fashion.  Pins  were  eagerly  picked  up  in  the  streets.  Thorns,  with 
wax  heads,  served  as  hair-pins.  Scraps  of  old  metal  became  precious  as 
gold. 

The  plight  of  the  army  was  equally  distressing.  Drastic  drafting  had 
long  since  taken  into  the  army  nearly  all  the  able-bodied  men  between  the 
ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five.  Boys  from  fourteen  to  eighteen,  and  old  men 
from  forty-five  to  sixty,  were  also  pressed  into  service  as  junior  and  senior 
reserves,  the  Confederacy  thus,  as  General  Butler  wittily  said,  “ robbing 
both  the  cradle  and  the  grave.”  Lee’s  army  had  been  crumbling  away 
beneath  the  terrible  blows  dealt  it  by  Grant.  He  received  some  reinforce- 
ments during  1864,  but  in  nowise  enough  to  make  good  his  losses.  When 
he  took  the  field  in  the  spring  of  1865,  his  total  effective  force  was  fifty-seven 
thousand.  Grant’s  army,  including  Butler’s  and  Sheridan’s  troops,  numbered 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand.  Lee  now  perceived  that  his  only 
hope  lay  in  escaping  from  the  clutches  of  Grant,  and  making  a junction 
with  Johnston’s  army  in  North  Carolina.  Grant  was  on  the  watch  for  just 
such  an  attack.  On  March  29,  Sheridan  worked  around  into  the  rear  of 
the  Confederate  right.  Lee  descried  the  movement,  and  extended  his 
lines  that  way  to  avert  it.  A force  was  sent,  which  drove  Sheridan  back 
in  some  confusion.  Reinforced,  he  again  advanced  and  beat  the  forces 
opposed  to  him  rearward  to  Five  Forks.  Here,  April  i,  he  made  a success- 
ful charge,  before  which  the  foe  broke  and  ran,  leaving  forty-five  hundred 
prisoners. 

Fearing  an  attack  on  Sheridan  in  force  which  might  let  Lee  out.  Grant 
sent  reinforcements,  at  the  same  time  keeping  up  a roaring  cannonade 
along  the  whole  line  all  night.  At  five  on  the  morning  of  the  2d,  a grand 
assault  was  made  against  the  Confederate  lieft,  which  had  been  weakened  to 
extend  the  right.  The  outer  intrenchments,  with  two  forts  farther  in,  were 
taken.  Lee  at  once  telegraphed  to  President  Davis  that  Petersburg  and 
Richmond  must  be  immediately  abandoned. 

It  was  Sunday,  and  the  message  reached  Air.  Davis  in  church.  He 
hastened  out  to  meet  the  crisis.  A panic-stricken  throng  was  soon  streaming 
from  the  doomed  city.  Vehicles  let  for  one  hundred  dollars  an  hour  in 
gold.  The  State-prison  guards  fled  and  the  criminals  escaped.  A drunken 
mob  surged  th^'ough  the  streets,  smashing  windows  and  plundering  shops. 
General  Ewell  blew  up  the  iron-clads  in  the  river  and  burned  bridges 


260 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


and  storehouses.  The  fire  spread  till  one-third  of  Richmond  was  in 
flames.  The  air  was  filled  with  a hideous  mingling  of  the  discordant 
sounds  of  human  voices — the  crying  of  children,  the  lamentations  of 
women,  the  3'ells  of  drunken  men — with  the  roar  of  the  tempest  of  flames, 
the  explosion  of  magazines,  the  bursting  of  shells.”  Early  on  the  morning 
of  the  3d  was  heard  the  cry,  “The  Yankees  are  coming!”  Soon  a 
column  of  blue-coated  troops  poured  into  the  city,  headed  b}^  a regiment 
of  colored  cavalry,  and  the  Stars  and  Stripes  presently  floated  over  the 
Confederate  capital.  The  Confederacy  was  tottering  to  its  fall.  Lee  had 
begun  his  retreat  on  the  night  of  the  2d,  and  was  straining  every  nerve 
to  reach  a point  on  the  railroad  fifty  miles  to  the  west,  whence  he  could 
move  south  and  join  Johnston.  Grant  was  too  quick  for  him.  Sending 
Sheridan  in  advance  to  head  him  off,  he  himself  hurried  after  the  main 
army.  Gray  and  Blue  kept  up  the  race  for  several  days,  moving  on  nearly 
parallel  lines.  Sheridan  struck  the  Confederate  column  at  Sailor’s  Creek 
on  the  6th,  and  a heavy  engagement  ensued,  in  which  the  Southern  army 
lost  maii}^  wagons  and  several  thousand  prisoners. 

Lee’s  band  was  in  a pitiable  plight.  Its  -supplies  had  been  cut  off,  and 
many  of  the  soldiers  had  nothing  to  eat  except  the  young  shoots  of  trees. 
They  fell  out  of  the  ranks  by  hundreds  and  deserted  to  their  homes  near  by. 
With  all  hope  of  escape  cut  off,  and  his  army  crumbling  to  pieces  around 
him,  Lee  was  at  last  forced  to  surrender.  To  this  end  he  met  Grant,  on 
April  9,  at  a residence  near  Appomattox  Court  House.  The  personal 
appearance  of  the  two  generals  at  this  interview  presented  a striking,  not 
to  say  ludicrous,  contrast.  Lee,  who  was  a tall,  handsome  man,  was  attired 
in  a new  uniform,  showing  all  the  insignia  of  his  rank,  with  a splendid 
dress-sword  at  his  side.  Grant,  wholly  unprepared  for  the  interview,  wore 
a private’s  uniform,  covered  with  mud  and  dust  from  hard  riding  that  day. 
His  shoulder-straps  were  the  only  mark  of  his  high  rank,  and  he  had  no 
sword.  Having  served  together  in  the  Mexican  War,  they  spent  some  time 
in  a friendl}^  conversation  about  those  old  scenes.  Grant  then  wrote  out  the 
terms  of  surrender,  which  Lee  accepted.  The  troops  were  to  give  their 
paroles  not  to  take  up  arms  again  until  properly  exchanged,  and  officers 
might  retain  their  side-arms,  private  horses,  and  baggage.  Anxious  to  heal 
the  wounds  of  the  vSouth,  Grant,  with  rare  thoughtfulness,  allowed  privates 
also  to  take  home  their  own  horses.  “ The}^  will  need  them  for  the  spring 
ploughing,”  he  said.  The  nineteen  thousand  prisoners  captured  during  the 
last  ten  da3^s,  together  wdth  deserters,  left,  in  Lee’s  once  magnificent  army, 
but  twenty-eight  thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty-six  soldiers  to  be  paroled. 


AN  AUGUST  MORNING  WITH  FARRAGUT  IN  MOBILE  BAY. 

"I  am  going  into  Mol)ile  Bay  in  the  morning  if  ‘ God  is  my  leader,’  as  I liope  He  is,”  wrote  Admiral  D.  G.  Farragut  to  his  wife  ou  the  night  of  August  4,  1864.  Ihe  next 
morning,  stationing  himself  in  the  rigging,  where  he  could  see  every  phase  of  'he  battle,  he  attacked  Mobile,  hitherto  impregnable  during  the  war.  After  a furious  engagement,  he 
forced  his  way  witli  his  fleet  past  the  forts  and  took  possession  of  the  harbor,  thus  completely  closing  the  port  of  Mobile  against  the  receipt  of  Confederate  supplies  fiom  abroad. 
This  was  one  of  the  greatest  exploits  of  the  American  Admiral,  who  has  never  uaa  a superior. 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


261 


The  surrendering  general  was  compelled  to  ask  twenty-five  thousand  rations 
for  these  famished  troops,  a request  which  was  cheerfully  granted. 

While  all  loyal  hearts  were  rejoicing  over  the  news  of  Lee’s  surrender,* 
recognized  as  virtually  ending  the  war,  a pall  suddenly  fell  upon  the  land. 
On  the  evening  of  April  14,  while  President  Lincoln  was  sitting  in  a box  at 
Ford’s  Theatre  in  Washington,  an  actor,  John  Wilkes  Booth,  crept  up 
behind  him,  placed  a pistol  to  his  head,  and  fired.  Brandishing  his  weapon, 
and  crying,  “ Sic  sempej^  tyranjiisP  the  assassin  leaped  to  the  stage,  sus- 
taining a severe  injury.  Regaining  his  feet,  he  shouted,  “The  South  is 
avenged !”  and  made  his  escape.  The  bullet  had  pierced  the  President’s 
brain  and  rendered  him  insensible.  He  was  removed  to  a house  near  by, 
where  he  died  next  morning.  His  body  was  taken  to  Springfield,  111.,  for 
burial,  and  a nation  mourned  as  no  American  since  Washington  had  ever 
been  mourned  before.  The  South  deplored  the  foul  deed.  Well  it  might, 
for,  had  Lincoln  lived,  much  of  its  sorrow  during  the  next  years  would  have 
been  avoided.  Booth  was  only  one  of  a band  of  conspirators  who  had  in- 
tended also  to  take  off  General  Grant  and  the  whole  Cabinet.  By  a strange 
good  fortune  Secretary  Seward,  sick  in  bed,  was  the  only  victim  besides  the 
President.  He  was  stabbed  three  times  with  a bowie-knife,  but  not  fatally. 
After  a cunning  flight  and  brave  defence  Booth  was  shot  near  Port  Royal. 
Of  the  other  conspirators  some  were  hanged,  some  imprisoned. 

The  Confederacy  collapsed.  Johnston’s  army  surrendered  to  Sherman 
on  April  26.  President  Davis  fled  south.  On  May  10  he  was  captured  in 
Georgia,  muffled  in  a lady’s  cloak  and  shawl,  and  became  a prisoner  at 
Fortress  Monroe.  The  war  had  called  into  militar}^  (land)  service  in  the 
two  armies  together  hardly  fewer  than  four  million  men  ; two  and  three- 
fourths  millions,  in  round  numbers,  on  the  Union  side,  and  one  and  a fourth 
millions  on  the  other.  The  largest  number  of  Northern  soldiers  in  actual 
service  at  any  one  time  was  one  million  five  hundred  and  sixteen  on  May  i, 
1865,  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  of  them  being  fit  for  duty.  The 
largest  number  of  Confederate  land  forces  in  service  at  aii}^  time  was  six 
hundred  and  ninety  thousand,  on  January  i,  1863.  The  Union  armies  lost 
by  death  three  hundred  and  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-nine, 
forty-four  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  of  these  being  killed  in 
battle,  forty-nine  thousand  two  hundred  and  five  dying  of  wounds.  Over 
twenty-six  thousand  are  known  to  have  died  in  Confederate  prisons. 

The  stronghold  of  the  Confederacy  on  the  Gulf  was  Mobile.  Two 
strong  forts,  mounting  twenty-seven  and  forty-seven  guns,  guarded  the 
channel  below  the  city,  which  was  further  defended  by  spiles  and  torpedoes. 


262 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


lu  the  harbor,  August  5,  1864,  lay  the  iron-clad  ram,  “ Tennessee,”  and 
three  gunboats,  commanded  by  Admiral  Buchanan,  formerly  captain  of  the 
“ Alerrimac.”  Farragut  determined  to  force  a passage.  Before  six  o’clock 
in  the  morning  his  fleet  of  four  monitors  and  fourteen  wooden  ships,  the 
latter  lashed  together  two  and  two,  got  under  way,  Farragut  taking  his 
station  in  the  main  rigging  of  the  “ Hartford.”  The  action  opened  about 
seven  o’clock.  One  of  the  monitors  struck  a torpedo  and  sunk.  The 
“ Brooklyn,”  which  was  leading,  turned  back  to  go  around  what  seemed  to 
be  a nest  of  torpedoes.  The  whole  line  was  in  danger  of  being  huddled 
together  under  the  Are  of  the  forts.  Farragut  boldly  took  the  lead  and  the 
fleet  followed.  The  torpedo  cases  could  be  heard  rasping  against  the  ships’ 
bottoms,  but  none  exploded.  The  forts  being  safely  passed,  the  Confederate 
gunboats  advanced  to  the  attack.  One  of  these  was  captured,  the  other 
two  escaped.  The  powerful  iron-clad  “ Tennessee  ” now  moved  down  upon 
the  Union  fleet.  It  was  two  hundred  and  nine  feet  long,  with  armor  from 
five  to  six  inches  thick.  Farragut  ordered  his  wooden  vessels  to  run  her 
down.  Three  succeeded  in  ramming  her  squarely.  She  reeled  under  the 
tremendous  blows,  and  her  gunners  could  not  keep  their  feet.  A -monitor 
sent  a fifteen-inch  ball  through  her  stern.  Her  smoke-stack  and  steering- 
chains  were  shot  away,  and  several  port  shutters  jammed.  About  10  A.  M., 
after  an  action  of  an  hour  and  a quarter,  the  ram  hoisted  the  white  flag. 
The  forts  surrendered  in  a few  days.  January  15,  1865,  Fort  Fisher,  a 
strong  work  near  Wilmington,  N.  C.,  mounting**seventy-five  guns,  was  cap- 
tured by  a joint  land  and  naval  expedition  under  General  Terry  and  Ad- 
miral Porter.  This  was  the  last  great  engagement  along  the  coast. 

The  story  of  the  war  upon  the  high  seas  is  quickly  told.  Swift  and 
powerful  cruisers  were  built  in  English  shipyards,  with  the  connivance  of 
the  British  Government,  whence  they  sailed  to  prey  upon  our  commerce. 
The  ‘‘Florida,”  “Georgia,”  “Shenandoah,”  “Chameleon,”  and  “Talla- 
hassee,” were  some  of  the  most  famous  in  the  list  of  Confederate  cruisers. 
During  1861,  fifty-eight  prizes  were  taken  by  them.  American  merchant 
vessels  were  driven  from  tlie  sea.  The  “ Shenandoah  ” alone  destroyed  over 
$6,000,000  worth  of  vessels  and  cargoes.  The  two  most  celebrated  of  these 
sea-rovers  were  the  “ Sumter”  and  the  “ Alabama,”  both  commanded  by 
Captain  vSemmes,  formerly  of  the  United  States  Navy.  The  “Sumter” 
was  a screw  steamer  of  six  hundred  tons,  a good  sailer  and  seaboat.  She 
was  bought  by  the  Confederate  Government  and  armed  with  heav}^  guns. 
On  June  30,  i86r,  she  ran  the  blockade  of  Charleston,  and  began  scouring 
the  seas.  All  through  the  fall  she  prowled  about  the  Atlantic,  taking 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION 


263 


seventeen  prizes,  most  of  which  were  burned.  Many  United  States  cruisers 
were  sent  after  her,  but  she  eluded  them  all.  Early  in  1862  the  “ Sumter  ” 
entered  the  port  of  Gibraltar.  Here  she  was  blockaded  by  the  Union  gun- 
boats, and  Semmes  sold  her  to  take  command  of  the  “ Alabama.”  The 
Alabama  ” was  built  for  the  Confederacy  at  Laird’s  shipyard,  Liverpool, 
and  although  her  character  was  perfectly  well  known,  the  British  Govern- 
ment permitted  her  to  go  to  sea.  She  was  taken  to  the  Azores  Islands, 
where  she  received  her  armament  and  her  captain.  The  officers  were  Con- 
federates, the  crew  British.  She  began  her  destructive  career  in  August,  1862. 
By  the  last  of  October  she  had  taken  twenty-seven  prizes.  In  January  she 
sunk  the  gunboat  “ Hatteras,”  one  of  the  blockading  fleet,  off  Galveston, 
Texas.  After  cruising  in  all  seas,  the  “Alabama,”  in  1864,  returned  to  the 
European  coast,  having  captured  sixty-five  vessels  and  destroyed  property 
worth  between  $6,000,000  and  $7,000,000.  On  June  ii,  Semmes  put  into 
the  harbor  of  Cherbourg,  on  the  coast  of  France.  Captain  Winslow,  com- 
manding the  United  States  steamer  “ Kearsarge,”  cruising  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, heard  of  the  famous  rover’s  arrival,  and  took  his  station  outside  the 
harbor.  About  ten  o’clock  on  the  morning  of  June  19,  1864,  the  “Alabama  ” 
was  seen  coming  out  of  port,  attended  by  a French  man-of-war  and  an  Eng- 
lish steam  yacht.  Captain  Winslow  immediately  cleared  the  decks  for 
action.  It  was  a clear,  bright  day,  with  a smooth  sea.  The  fight  took  place 
about  seven  miles  from  shore.  The  two  ships  were  pretty  equally  matched, 
each  being  of  about  one  thousand  tons  burden.  The  “ Kearsarge  ” had  the 
heavier  smooth-bore  guns,  but  the  “ Alabama  ” carried  a lOO-pound  Blakely 
rifle.  The  “ Kearsarge  ” was  protected  amidships  by  chain  cables. 

The  “Alabama”  opened  the  engagement.  The  “Kearsarge”  replied 
with  a cool  and  accurate  fire.  The  action  soon  grew  spirited.  Solid  shot 
ricochetted  over  the  smooth  water.  Shells  crashed  against  the  sides  or  ex- 
ploded on  deck.  The  two  ships  sailed  round  and  round  a common  centre, 
keeping  about  a half  mile  apart.  In  less  than  an  hour  the  “Alabama  ” was 
terribly  shattered  and  began  to  sink.  She  tried  to  escape,  but  water  put  out 
her  engine  fires.  Semmes  hoisted  the  white  flag.  In  a few  minutes  the 
“Alabama  ” went  down,  her  bow  rising  high  in  the  air.  Boats  from  the 
“ Kearsarge  ” rescued  some  of  the  crew.  The  English  yacht  picked  up 
others,  Semmes  among  them,  thus  running  off  with  Winslow’s  prisoners. 
The  “ Kearsarge  ” had  received  little  damage. 

The  sinking  of  the  “Alabama”  ended  the  career  of  the  Confederate 
cruisers.  American  commerce  had  been  nearly  driven  from  the  ocean,  and, 
moreover,  the  days  of  peace  on  land  and  sea  alike  were  near  at  hand. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


(SEVENTH  DECADE) 

THE  MAN  OF  BLOOD  AND  IRON 

\^Rhume. — It  was  an  eventful  day  for  Prussia  when  Bismarck  entered  upon  his  duties  at  Frankfort, 
May  14,  1851.  When  the  Austrian  Bundestag  had  convened  every  opportunity  was  seized  to  humil- 
iate and  injure  Prussia.  King  Frederick  William  IV,  remembering  Bismarck  as  a brave  fighter, 
sent  for  him  and  despatched  him  to  Frankfort  as  Prussia’s  representative.] 

OF  the  new  Ambassador  to  Frankfort,  over  whose  appointment  all 
Europe  was  astounded,  Heinrich  von  Sybel,  in  his  work.  The  Estab- 
lishment  of  the  German  Empire  by  William  f says  as  follows : 
“ Bismarck  was  then  thirty-six  years  old,  in  the  full  bloom  of  manly  vigor. 
Of  an  imposing  stature,  fully  a head  taller  than  the  average  man  ; with  an 
appearance  of  radiant  health  ; an  intelligent,  keen  eye  ; a mouth  and  jaw  re- 
vealing the  expression  of  an  unbending  will ; thus  he  appeared  at  that  time 
to  contemporaries.  His  conversation  was  filled  with  original  thoughts  and 
brilliant  repartee.  Among  comrades  he  possessed  a winning  amiability,  but 
in  a heated  argument  he  was  often  severe.,.  His  method  of  reasoning  was 
purely  his  own  ; the  fresh  originality  of  his  nature  came  neither  from 
mechanical  training,  from  outside  influences,  nor  from  the  opinions  of 
others.  Among  the  many  diplomats  who  were  assembled  in  Frankfort, 
Bismarck  must  have  presented  a singularly  good  appearance.  His  com- 
panions were  well  versed  in  all  the  arts  of  chicanery,  deception,  and  intrigue. 
Bismarck  scorned  such  subterfuges,  although  readily  discerning  these  wiles 
in  others.  In  a letter  to  his  wife  he  said : ‘ The  people  are  wholly  occu- 
pied with  trifles,  and  the  members  of  the  legations,  consumed  with  the  idea 
of  their  own  importance,  seem  laughable  to  me.  I have  never  doubted  but 
that  all  used  considerable  water  in  their  cooking,  but  such  an  insipid,  thin 
watery  soup  in  which  there  is  not  a trace  of  seasoning,  amazes  me.’”  The 
president  of  the  Bundestag,  at  that  time  Count  Thun,  was  an  Austrian  and 
a well-known  man  of  the  world,  and  therefore  naturally  a diplomat,  whose 
264 


THE  MAN  OF  BLOOD  AND  IRON 


265 


actions  were  decided,  not  by  right,  but  by  every  means  that  was  useful  for 
the  accomplishment  of  his  aims.  In  the  distinguished  society  of  Frank- 
fort, the  sympathies  were  entirely  Austrian.  The  women  wore  the  Austrian 
colors,  black  and  yellow.  It  was  the  fashion  to  despise  everything  Prus- 
sian. This  principle  of  conduct  was  followed  also  by  Count  Thun.  In  the 
beginning  Bismarck  met  him  with  courtesy.  As  soon,  however,  as  he  rec- 
ognized what  the  Austrian  policy  really  was,  he  changed  his  tactics.  He 
was  not  the  man  to  allow  himself  or  his  government  to  submit  to  anything 
unseemly.  Opportunities  soon  presented  themselves  to  display  his  firmness. 
During  the  recesses  of  business  sittings.  Count  Thun  reserved  to  himself 
the  right  to  smoke,  while  not  one  of  the  German  princes  dared  to  light  a 
cigar.  Bismarck  meanwhile  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  ambassador  of  the 
King  of  Prussia  was  as  important  as  the  follower  of  the  Emperor  of 
Austria.  So,  when  in  the  next  sitting  Count  Thun  again  was  seen  smok- 
ing, Bismarck  at  once  took  out  a cigar  from  his  cigar  case,  bit  off  the  end, 
and  asked  the  Austrian  for  a light.  To  the  horror  of  the  other  diplomats, 
Prussia  puffed  away  as  unconcernedly  as  startled  Austria.  As  soon 
as  the  others  had  recovered  from  their  astonishment,  they  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  to  preserve  the  dignity  of  their  respective  governments, 
they  also  should  smoke.  Soon  the  entire  dignified  Bundestag  was  puffing 
away. 

When  King  William  signed  the  order  September  24,  1862,  b}’  which 
Bismarck  was  called  to  the  most  important  position  in  the  Prussian  cabinet, 
the  general  political  situation,  outwardl}^  serene, was  in  reality  most  threaten- 
ing. The  conditions  had  rapidly  changed  in  Italy  since  the  victories  of 
1859  had  given  the  first  impetus  towards  the  freedom  of  the  Peninsula.  In 
the  country  between  the  rivers  Po  and  Tiber,  the  people  had  driven  out  the 
Hapsburg  rulers  and  annexed  themselves  to  the  Kingdom  of  Sardinia.  Gar- 
ibaldi had  raised  the  Italian  colors  in  Southern  Ital}^  and  driven  out  the 
Bourbon  king ; and  towards  the  end  of  i860,  entire  Italy  with  the  exception 
of  Rome  and  Venice  was  united  under  Victor  Emmanuel  as  the  Kingdom 
of  Italy.  In  place  of  many  unimportant  states  there  now  exists  one 
strong  government. 

The  consolidation  of  Italy  had  also  called  out  a strong  feeling  in 
Germany.  National  unity  now  became  the  great  wish  of  all  thinking 
patriots,  and  prominent  men  openly  challenged  the  people  to  think  upon  a 
means  of  accomplishing  the  Union  of  the  German  States  and  represen- 
tation of  the  masses.  A distinguished  resident  of  Hanover,  Rodolph  von 
Bennigsen,  issued  a summons  to  establish  a confederation  whose  aim 


266 


THE  MAN  OF  BLOOD  AND  IRON 


should  be  the  political  regeneration  of  Germany.  This  call  found  a 
welcome  assent  from  the  Alps  to  the  ocean  ; hundreds  of  good  men  were 
united  in  the  German  National  Confederation.  They  went  to  Frankfort  to 
direct  the  furtherance  of  the  great  work.  But  no  sooner  was  the  proposi- 
tion advanced  that  Prussia  should  be  the  common  leader  of  United  Germany 
than  South  Germany  objected  violently,  and  on  account  of  this  angry  dis- 
sension the  Confederation  received  a serious  set-back.  A permanent  com- 
mittee was  appointed,  however,  which  was  to  meet  in  Frankfort.  But 
the  scheme  of  a German  Confederation  filled  the  Bundestag  alike  with 
anxiety  and  anger,  and  this  feeling  was  so  strong  that  it  caused  the  ejection 
of  the  committee  of  the  Confederation  from  Frankfort.  Duke  Ernest  von 
Coburg-Gotha,  a noble  and  patriotic  prince,  took  charge  of  the  persecuted 
representatives  of  the  people  and  assigned  them  a safe  place  in  Coburg  to 
pursue  their  work.  “Was  it  possible,  under  such  conditions  to  effect  peace- 
fully the  regeneration  of  Germany?  Was  Bismarck  very  wrong  when  he 
asserted  that  the  existing  confederation  was  merely  a collection  of  dan- 
gerous and  revolutionary  individualisms  ? Was  he  not  right  when  he 
called  the  existing  conditions  of  the  Bundestag  wholly  antagonistic  to  all 
specific  exertions  for  unity  ? And  did  he  not  hit  the  nail  on  the  head  when 
he  openly  declared  that  the  German  question  could  be  settled  only  by 
‘ blood  and  iron  ’ ?” 

It  was  the  absorbing  interest  in  the  Schleswig-Holstein  question 
which  held  the  jealousies  of  Prussia  and  Austria  in  abeyance  for  a time. 
The  two  duchies  were  united  with  the  Kingdom  of  Denmark.  In  February, 
1864,  the  allied  Prussian  and  Austrian  armies  crossed  the  Eider,  and 
inflicted  such  losses  on  Denmark  that  she  consented  to  part  with  the  three 
duchies  of  Schleswig,  Holstein  and  Lauenburg,  in  favor  of  the  Emperor  of 
Austria  or  the  King  of  Prussia. 

And  now  a wrangle  arose  as  to  the  disposition  of  these  duchies.  Prus- 
sia wished  to  annex  them  to  her  own  territory  ; Austria  was  not  particular!}^ 
anxious  for  them,  but  she  was  determined  Prussia  should  not  have  them. 
Finall}^  the  dispute  was  settled  amicably,  b;it  the  mutual  distrust  or  jeal- 
ousy of  the  rival  powers  remained  and  the  shrewd  Bismarck  determined 
they  should  remain,  for  through  such  a quarrel,  he  saw  the  opportunity  of 
increasing  the  greatness  of  Prussia. 

When  a nation  is  anxious  to  make  war,  it  doesn’t  take  her  long  to  find 
the  opportunity.  Prussia  found  hers  in  the  still  open  Schleswig-Holstein 
question,  but  in  reality  the  cause  was  the  long-pending  issue  as  to  whether 
Austria  or  Prussia  should  control  the  destinies  of  the  Fatherland. 


LANDING  OF  THE  PRUSSIAN  AR:\rY  AT  ALSEN.  DANISH  WAR  OF  1864. 


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The  Austrians  suffered  a decisive  and  crushing  defeat. 


THE  MAN  OF  BLOOD  AND  IRON 


267 


The  quarrel,  artfully  planned  by  Bismarck,  led  in  the  year  1866,  to 
the  Austro-Prussian  War,  one  of  the  briefest  on  record,  for  it  lasted  only 
seven  weeks,  its  actual  operations  being  confined  to  one  month,  from  June 
22  to  July  22. 

Austria  was  supported  by  Bavaria,  Wilrtemberg,  Saxon}^  Hanover, 
Baden  and  the  two  Hesses.  The  Austrian  leader.  General  Benedek,  com- 
manded an  army  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men.  The  Prussian 
armies  were  still  more  numerous,  somewhat  inferior  in  artillery  and  cavalry, 
but  they  had  the  enormous  advantage  of  the  directing  genius  of  Von 
Moltke,  one  of  the  most  consummate  masters  of  the  science  of  war,  and  the 
possessor  of  the  famous  and  recently  invented  “needle-gun,”  a breech-load- 
ing rifle  which  fired  several  shots  for  one  delivered  by  the  Austrian  muzzle- 
loaders. 

Prussia  being  thoroughly  prepared  moved  with  amazing  rapidity. 
Hanover  and  Hessen-Cassel  were  invaded  and  conquered  at  once,  and  before 
Saxoii}^  awoke  to  her  danger,  she  was  overrun  and  her  sovereign  and  army 
retreating  pell  mell  to  Bohemia.  Then  two  powerful  bodies  of  Prussians 
invaded  Bohemia  by  different  routes,  gaining  several  successes  on  the  way 
through  the  mountains.  Effecting  a junction,  they  won  the  great  battle  of 
Koniggratz,  or  Sadowa,  July  3,  hurried  southward,  won  another  battle, 
and  then  by  threatening  Vienna  itself  forced  Austria  to  a truce.  “ The 
world  is  going  to  pieces!”  Cardinal  Antonelli  cried  out  at  Rome,  when  he 
received  news  of  the  Austrian  downfall.  It  was  so  much  the  more  unex- 
pected to  this  bitterest  enemy  of  the  evangelical  Prussian,  because  he  had 
considered  the  victory  of  the  Austrians  certain.  Italy,  Prussia’s  ally, 
suffered  heavy  losses  at  Eustozza  from  the  Archduke  Albrecht,  and  in  a 
sea  fight  at  Lissa  from  Admiral  Segethoff.  But  these  victories  of  the 
Austrians  were  of  no  effect  because  the  Prussians  stood  victorious  before 
Vienna. 

In  Paris,  also,  the  surprise  and  confusion  was  great.  • Fast  upon  the 
news  of  the  victory  at  Koniggratz  followed  events  that  raised  the  envy  of 
the  French  and  their  emperor  into  open  hostility.  The  Emperor  Francis 
Joseph,  completely  dispirited  by  his  downfall,  turned  to  Napoleon,  asked 
for  his  mediation,  and  gave  up  to  him  Venetia,  the  bone  of  contention  for 
which  the  Italians  were  struggling.  What  honor  for  the  third  Napoleon  1 
He  was  now  the  arbitrator  and  could  change  the  map  of  Europe  by  his  de- 
cision. He  assumed  his  great  role  immediately  and  issued  a proclamation 
to  his  beloved  Parisians,  informing  them  of  his  new  dignity,  adding  that  he, 
Napoleon  HI,  had  alread}^  taken  steps  to  bring  about  a cessation  of  hostili- 


268 


THE  MAN  OF  BLOOD  AND  IRON 


ties  under  the  conditions  demanded  by  the  Kings  of  Prussia  and  Italy. 
The  Parisians  were  charmed  with  the  Louis  and  put  up  all  their  flags  and 
illuminated  their  city  in  the  evening.  But  Napoleon  also  sent  a message  to 
the  King  of  Prussia  courteously  requesting  that  the  victor  descend  to 
French  interference  in  order  to  establish  conditions  of  peace.  The  king 
and  his  advisers  received  this  message  with  no  little  indignation.  It  was 
positively  known  at  Prussian  headquarters  that  Napoleon  was  not  able  to 
enforce  his  demands  by  military  strength,  and  Prussia  decided  that  she 
would  not  be  forced  into  a dishonorable  peace.  Yet  the  affair  had  to  be 
handled  cautiously,  for  the  attitude  of  Russia  and  England  in  regard  to 
peace  was  as  yet  uncertain.  In  this  crisis,  the  dexterity,  prudence,  and 
firmness  of  Bismarck  were  invaluable.  The  Prussian  Government  re- 
strained its  just  indignation  and  announced  itself  ready  for  the  decision  of 
the  French  Emperor.  The  king  sent  Prince  Reusz  to  Paris  on  July  7 to 
declare  to  Napoleon  that  Prussia’s  conditions  of  peace  were  the  union  of 
Germany,  without  Austria,  under  Prussia’s  leadership,  and  a corresponding 
extension  of  Prussia’s  boundaries  under  German  jurisdiction.  The  French 
Government  objected  to  these  conditions,  for  a united  Germany  would  be  a 
continual  menace  to  France.  It  was  proposed  that  in  addition  to  Austria 
and  Prussia,  a third  state  should  be  formed  from  the  remaining  German 
states,  but  Prussia,  of  course,  would  not  listen  to  such  a proposal.  The 
sentiment  in  Paris  was  divided.  One  party  demanded  that  a strong 
French  army  be  immediately  sent  to  the  Rhine,  while  the  emperor  and 
the  most  prudent  among  his  advisers  argued  that  France  was  not  in 
the  position  to  successfully  fight  against  Prussia  and  Ital}^  But  every 
day  the  Prussians  were  advancing,  and  Napoleon,  since  his  mediation 
was  powerless,  presented  a ridiculous  spectacle  to  the  world.  He  was, 
therefore,  quite  content  when  Prussia  declared  that  she  would  be  satisfied 
with  a division  of  Germany  through  the  main  line,  with  southern  Ger- 
many forming  an  independent  league,  but  the  northern  half  united  under 
Prussian  leadership. 

Peace  was  formally  concluded  with  Austria  on  August  23,  1866. 
Austria  then  separated  from  the  German  Confederation  and  recognized  the 
changes  which  Prussia  desired  to  make  north  of  the  main  line.  She  also 
paid  Prussia  a war  indemnity  of  fifteen  million  dollars,  and  renounced  all 
claims  to  Schleswig-Holstein.  These  duchies,  together  with  the  kingdom 
of  Hanover,  the  electorate  of  Hesse,  the  duchy  of  Nassau,  and  the  free  city 
of  Frankfort-on-the-Main  were  annexed  to  Prussia.  Now,  instead  of  the 
dismembered  boundaries  that  Austria’s  enmity  had  formerly  forced  upon. 


THE  MAN  OF  BLOOD  AND  IRON 


269 


Prussia  in  the  Vienna  Congress,  Prussia  found  herself  greatly  increased  in 
power.  Shortly  before  this  peace  had  been  concluded  with  the  South 
German  states  under  very  mild  conditions. 

Napoleon  asked  Prussia’s  aid  in  taking  possession  of  Belgium,  but 
was  refused  by  Bismarck,  who,  however,  kept  for  later  use  the  written 
statement  of  this  proposed  laud  robbery.  Germany  was  gradually  growing 
to  comprehend  Prussia’s  aims,  upon  whose  accomplishment  depended  the 
happiness  and  the  future  of  Germany.  King  Louis  II,  of  Bavaria,  united 
himself  to  the  Prussian  king,  and  a few  days  after  the  conclusion  of  peace 
he  wrote  to  King  William  : “ Since  peace  is  concluded  between  us,  and  a 
firm  friendship  established  between  our  houses  and  states,  it  seems  to  me 
that  this  agreement  ought  to  have  an  outward  symbolical  expression.  I 
therefore  beg  your  royal  niajest}^  to  jointly  possess  with  me  the  noble  castle 
of  your  ancestors  at  Niiniberg.  If  from  the  battlements  of  this,  the 
ancestral  home  of  us  both,  the  banners  of  the  Hohenzollerns  and  the 
Wittelsbachs  shall  wave  united,  they  will  be  recognized  as  the  symbol 
that  Prussia  and  Bavaria  together  watch  over  the  future  of  Germany^ 
which  Providence,  through  your  royal  majesty,  has  guided  into  new 
paths.” 

Russia  was  indignant  at  not  having  been  consulted  in  regard  to  the 
German  re-organization,  and  General  von  Manteuffel  was,  therefore,  sent  to 
St.  Petersburg  to  re-establish  the  old  friendly  relations  between  Prussia  and 
Russia,  a reconciliation  of  the  greatest  importance  for  the  future.  After 
the  great  events  of  the  war  the  people  of  Prussia  began  naturally  to  wish 
for  internal  peace,  that  is,  peace  between  the  Prussian  Government  and  the 
representative  of  the  people.  Count  Bismarck  first  gave  expression  to  this 
sentiment  by  proposing  that  King  William  place  before  the  Diet  a procla- 
mation agreeing  to  the  acts  of  the  government  in  recent  years.  At  first 
the  king  did  not  relish  the  suggestion,  not  wishing  to  ask  pardon  of  the 
Diet,  but  Count  Bismarck  would  not  desist  until  the  royal  consent  had  been 
given.  The  proclamation  was  almost  unanimously  accepted  on  September 
3.  With  the  same  large  majorities  the  acquisition  of  Prussia  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  North  German  League  were  accepted.  The  men  who  but 
recently  had  been  the  bitterest  enemies  of  Bismarck  now  strongly  sup- 
ported him  in  his  work  of  unifying  the  German  people.  The  representa- 
tives voted  to  the  worthy  councilors  and  generals  of  the  king  gifts  of  ready 
money,  of  which  Bismarck’s  share  was  three  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
With  this  sum  he  bought  the  estates  of  Varzin  in  lower  Pomerania.  Nego- 
tiations for  a North  German  League  were  soon  successfully  concluded. 


270 


THE  MAN  OF  BLOOD  AND  IRON 


Caroline,  Regent  of  Reusz-Greiz,  alone  wished  to  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  enterprise,  whereupon  Bismarck  sent  two  whole  companies  of  Prussian 
infantry  into  the  princess’  territory.  After  Caroline  had  endured  the 
presence  of  the  Prussians  in  the  state  for  four  weeks,  she  gave  up  and 
entered  the  North  German  League,  paying  seventy-five  thousand  dollars 
into  the  Prussian  treasury.  On  February  24,  1867,  Reichstag  of 

the  North  German  League  met  in  Berlin  and  was  opened  by  King 
William. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 


(SEVENTH  DECADE) 

OTHER  EVENTS  IN  OTHER  LANDS 

{Resume. — Between  the  war  of  1848  and  that  of  1859  Garibaldi  had  publicly  accepted  the  substitution  of 
monarchy,  such  as  existed  in  Piedmont,  for  the  republican  form  of  government,  for  which  he  had 
originally  fought,  and  was  therefore  free  to  serve  as  an  irregular  auxiliary  of  the  Piedmontese  forces. 
His  services  in  that  capacity  were  both  brilliant  and  effective.] 


IN  the  course  of  tlie  year  i860  the  most  triumphant  and  momentous 
enterprise  of  Garibaldi’s  remarkable  career  was  accomplished.  The 
chief  result  of  the  peace  of  Villafranca,  by  which  the  Italian  war  of 
1859  was  brought  to  an  abrupt  and  unsatisfactory  termination,  was  the  imme- 
diate resumption^  by  the  Italian  people  of  the  revolutionary  and  progressive 
responsibilities,  which,  during  the  campaign  had  been  vested  by  the  nation 
in  the  government  of  Sardinia.  Thus,  early  in  i860,  insurrectionary  dis- 
turbances broke  out  in  Palermo,  and  though  speedily  quelled  in  the  city  by 
the  great  numerical  strength  of  the  Neapolitan  garrison,  the}^  were  con- 
stantly repeated  throughout  the  interior  of  the  island,  where  the  insurgents 
were  full  of  elation  and  daring,  in  consequence  of  Garibaldi  having  trans- 
mitted to  them  the  assurance  that  he  would  speedily  appear  himself  to  head 
their  struggle.  In  fulfillment  of  this  promise.  Garibaldi  assembled  at 
Genoa  a volunteer  force  of  one  thousand  and  seventy  patriots,  and  set  sail 
May  5 for  the  island  of  Sicily.  On  the  iith  his  two  small  transport 
steamers  having  reached  Marsala  in  safety,  the  landing  of  his  followers  was 
successfully  effected  in  sight,  and  partially  under  fire  of  the  Neapolitan 
fleet.  On  the  15th,  in  the  battle  of  Calatafimi,  three  thousand  six  hundred 
troops  were  routed  by  Garibaldi’s  small  force,  and  to  this  opening  victory 
may  be  largel}"  attributed  the  subsequent  success  of  the  entire  expedition. 
It  at  once  cleared  the  way  to  Palermo,  and  inspired  Garibaldi’s  soldiers  with 
irresistible  confidence.  On  the  i8th  of  the  same  month.  Garibaldi  and  his 
little  army  of  heroes  occupied  the  heights  which  command  Palermo,  and 

271 


272 


OTHER  EVENTS  IN  OTHER  LANDS 


after  a desperate  conflict  with  the  royalist  troops,  fought  his  way  into  that 
unhappy  city,  which  for  several  subsequent  days  had  to  sustain  a ruthless 
bonibardment  from  the  united  fire  of  the  Neapolitan  garrison  and  fleet. 

The  intervention  of  the  British  fleet,  seconded  by  the  isolated  and 
destitute  condition  of  the  garrison  shut  up  in  the  forts,  induced  the  Neapol- 
itan general  to  capitulate ; and  on  his  departure  with  his  troops.  Garibaldi 
remained  in  undisputed  possession  of  the  city  and  strongholds  of  Palermo. 
His  first  public  enactment  was  the  universal  armament  of  the  citizens. 
July  20th,  at  the  head  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  men,  he  gave  battle  at 
Alelazzo  to  seven  thousand  Neapolitans,  who  were  completely  defeated,  and 
compelled  to  evacuate  the  fortress.  On  the  25th  the  Neapolitans  were 
driven  back  into  Messina,  where  Garibaldi  made  his  triumphal  entry  on  the 
27th,  the  mutinous  garrison,  terrified  at  his  approach,  having  compelled 
their  general  to  submit.  Towards  the  middle  of  August,  Garibaldi  made  a 
descent  in  Calabria,  and  was  immediately  joined  by  large  bodies  of  volun- 
teers from  all  directions,  by  whom  he  was  accompanied  on  his  memorable 
and  eventful  march  to  Naples.  September  5,  Garibaldi’s  army,  which 
then  amounted  to  twenty-five  or  thirty  thousand  men,  occupied  Salerno  on 
the  withdrawal  of  the  royalists,  and  on  the  7th,  amid  the  frenzied  enthu- 
siasm of  the  inhabitants.  Garibaldi  entered  Naples,  with  only  one  or  two 
friends,  to  prove  to  Europe  that  his  advent  was  that  of  a welcome  liberatoiq 
and  not  of  a terror-inspiring  conqueror.  On  the  previous  da^q  the  capital 
had  sullenly  wifnessed  the  withdrawal  of  King  Francis  II,  to  the  fortress  of 
Gaeta.  Before  the  close  of  the  month.  Garibaldi  had  enacted  several  judi- 
cious public  reforms,  calculated  to  increase  the  popularity  of  the  Sardinian 
government  of  which  he  was  the  declared  representative,  though  for  a brief 
space  he  accepted  the  title  and  powers  of  Dictator. 

On  October  i,  his  military  duties  became  again  paramount,  as  the 
royalist  troops,  numbering  fifteen  thousand  men,  came  from  Capua,  and 
fiercely  attacked  the  whole  line  of  the  Garibaldians.  For  some  hours  it 
seemed  as  though  success  was  about  to  desert  the  patriots,  but  eventually  the 
royalists  were  driven  back  to  Capua  in  disorder,  and  Garibaldi  announced 
the  result  in  his  famous  telegram  : Complete  victory  along  the  entire  line.’- 
This  was  his  last  triumph  in  that  struggle.  Victor  Emmanuel,  having 
again  assumed  command  of  his  army,  crossed  the  papal  frontier,  routed  the 
troops  under  Lamorciere,  and  passed  on  into  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  where 
lie  was  met  by  Garibaldi,  who  at  once  placed  in  his  sovereign’s  hands  the  un- 
conditional disposal  of  the  southern  volunteer  army,  and  the  absolute  sway 
over  the  Neapolitan  provinces. 


OTHER  EVENTS  IN  OTHER  LANDS 


273 


In  tlie  spring  of  1864,  Garibaldi  visited  England  and  was  honored 
with  a banquet  b}^  the  Lord  Mayor  and  the  city  of  London.  His  sudden 
departure  having  occasioned  considerable  public  discussion,  the  British 
Government  was  compelled  to  explain  why  it  had  advised  him  to  go. 
During  the  campaign  of  1866,  Garibaldi  took  the  field  and  was  engaged 
in  operations  against  the  Austrians  in  the  Tyrol,  where  he  sustained  a 
severe  repulse  (retrieved  the  next  da}^),  and  he  was  preparing  to  advance 
against  the  enemy  when  the  war  was  brought  to  a close,  and  he  returned  to 
Caprera.  Eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven  was  a disastrous  year  for 
Garibaldi.  He  then  openl}^  organized  an  invasion  of  the  States  of  the  Church 
in  order  to  complete  the  unification  of  Italy,  but  he  was  made  a prisoner, 
and  afterwards  allowed  to  return  to  Caprera,  in  the  neighborhood  of  which 
a man-of-war  was  stationed  to  prevent  his  escape.  He  did  escape,  however, 
only  to  be  speedily  defeated  by  the  pontifical  troops,  reinforced  by  the 
French.  Again  Garibaldi  retired  to  his  island  home,  leaving  it  in  1870  to 
fight  for  the  French  republic. 

In  1862,  Napoleon  HI  of  France  deemed  his  way  open — by  reason  of 
the  civil  war  in  the  United  States — to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  Mexico, 
and  in  1863,  he  summoned  an  assembly  of  notables.  This  body  decided  in 
favor  of  monarchy,  and  a deputation  was  appointed  to  offer  the  crown  of 
Mexico  to  the  Archduke  Maximilian  of  Austria.  After  deliberation  he 
accepted,  and  in  June,  1864,  entered  Mexico.  He  was  warmly  welcomed 
by  the  army  and  clergy,  but  soon  found  they  expected  him  to  sanction 
abuses  which  he  felt  bound  to  condemn.  He  was  supported  by  French 
troops,  and  for  a time  all  went  well ; but  he  tried  vainly  to  reconcile  the 
Mexican  parties  who  had  no  other  object  in  view  than  that  of  power  and  place. 
A proclamation  that  he  was  induced  to  make  in  October,  1865,  threatening 
death  under  the  laws  of  war  to  all  who  offered  resistance  to  the  government 
(which  was  asked  for  simply  as  a means  of  suppressing  brigandage),  was  so 
employed  both  b}^  the  Imperialist  and  French  commanders  that  under  it 
many  estimable  “ liberal  ” officers  were  shot  as  robbers.  At  the  same 
time  Louis  Napoleon  was  forced  to  contemplate  the  necessar}^  with- 
drawal of  his  troops,  for,  our  Civil  War  having  ended.  Emperor  Napoleon 
received  an  unmistakable  hint  from  the  United  States  Government 
that  the  “ Monroe  Doctrine  ” was  still  in  force,  and  the  presence  of 
the  French  troops  in  Mexico  would  not  be  tolerated.  In  vain  Empress 
Charlotta,  daughter  of  Leopold  I of  Belgium,  went  to  Europe  to 
enlist  support  for  her  husband  ; her  reason  gave  way  under  continued 
disappointment,  grief,  and  excitement.  The  French  were  ver}"  anxious  that 


274 


OTHER  EVENTS  IN  OTHER  LANDS 


Maximilian  should  leave  Mexico  with  their  troops,  and  it  had  become  evi- 
dent that  abdication  was  the  only  course  open  to  him,  3^et  he  felt  bound  as  a 
man  of  honor  to  remain  and  share  the  fate  of  his  followers.  At  the  head  of 
ten  thousand  men  he  made  a brave  defence  of  Queretaro  against  a Liberal 
army  under  Escobedo.  On  May  15,  1867,  he  attempted  to  escape  through 
the  enemy’s  lines  but  was  captured.  The  minister  of  war  ordered  Maxi- 
milian and  the  two  generals,  Miramon  and  Mejia,  to  be  tried  by  court-martial, 
and  it  was  in  vain  that  the  European  ministers  protested  against  an  alleged 
breach  of  the  laws  of  civilized  warfare.  The  course  of  the  trial  was  deter- 
mined from  the  first ; the  charges  rested  chiefly  on  the  proclamation  and  the 
executions  which  had  followed  it.  On  July  19  the  prisoners  were  shot. 
After  some  delay  the  body  of  Maximilian  was  given  to  his  relatives,  was 
taken  to  Europe  in  an  Austrian  frigate,  and  interred  at  Vienna  in  the  im- 
perial vault. 

At  this  time  the  English  Government  had  discovered  that  a certain 
political  movement,  known  as  Fenianism,  however  corrupt  in  some  of  its 
sources,  and  however  wild  and  extravagant  in  its  aims,  was  nevertheless  a 
reality  with  which  it  was  necessary  to  grapple.  Measures  were  taken  with 
great  promptness  and  determination.  The  Habeas  Corpus  Act  having  been 
summarily  suspended,  all  the  known  leaders  in  Dublin  and  in  the  provin- 
cial districts  of  Ireland  were  at  once  placed  under  arrest.  The  chief  journal 
of  the  conspiracy  was  suppressed  and  seized,  additional  troops  were  moved 
into  Ireland,  and  other  measures  of  repression  were  vigorously  instituted. 
So  universally  was  the  Fenian  movement  condemned  by  public  opinion 
that  most  of  the  prisoners  were  discharged  on  condition  of  their  leaving 
Ireland.  But  the  embers  of  discontent  continued  to  smoulder.  In  the  early 
summer  of  1866,  a raid  was  attempted  into  Canada,  and,  although  it  proved 
a failure,  an  organization  was  effected,  resulting,  in  the  spring  of  1867, 
an  abortive  attempt  at  insurrection  in  Ireland.  The  plan  of  the  conspira- 
tors was  to  seize  the  castle  and  military  stores  at  Chester,  and,  having  cut 
off  telegraphic  communication,  to  convey  the  arms  to  Dublin  and  effect  a 
grand  uprising.  The  attempt  failed.  Considerable  alarm,  however,  was 
created  in  England  and  Scotland  by  the  extent  and  daring  of  the  organ- 
ization among  Irishmen  in  the  large  manufacturing  towns.  In  1869,  the 
Fenian  Brotherhood  was  formally  chartered  in  the  United  States  under  the 
act  for  the  incorporation  of  benevolent  societies.  Shortly  afterward  this 
country  frustrated  another  Fenian  raid  on  Canada.  The  dis-establishment 
of  the  Irish  Church  (1869),  the  Land  Act,  in  the  following  year,  re- 
moved most  of  the  grievances  for  which  the  Fenian  movement  stood. 


OTHER  EVENTS  IN  OTHER  LANDS 


275 


A few  words,  before  we  close  the  chapter,  about  English  politics.  The 
“ budget  ” of  i860  was  distinguished  mainly  for  two  things — a commercial 
treaty  with  France,  and  what  was  known  as  “ taxes  on  knowledge.”  In  the 
debate  011  the  latter  subject,  years  before,  Gladstone  had  intimated  that, 
“ although  he  should  like  to  see  the  paper  duty  repealed  when  the  proper 
time  had  come,  if  books  and  newspapers  were  dearer  than  they  ought  to 
be,  the  blame  was  not  so  much  with  fiscal  requirements  as  with  the  ‘ trades 
unionisms,’  which  wickedly  raised  the  wages  of  compositors  and  others  to  a 
level  far  above  their  deserts.”  If  the  working  classes  wanted  cheap  litera- 
ture, he  thought  that  they  had  a sufficient  remedy  in  their  own  hands,  as 
they  themselves  could  cheapen  the  labor  by  which  the  literature  was  pro- 
duced. Ill  the  following  year  Gladstone,  after  the  government  had  been 
beaten,  proposed,  as  a compromise,  to  reduce  the  advertisement  duty  from 
one  shilling  and  sixpence  to  sixpence.  He  was  again  defeated,  and  the 
tax  was  abolished.  The  final  stage  was  reached  in  1861,  when  the  paper 
duty  was  removed,  Gladstone  being  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  after  the 
bill  had  been  defeated  in  the  House  of  Lords.  “ It  entailed,”  he  wrote, 
“ the  severest  parliamentary  struggle  in  which  I have  ever  been  engaged.” 
The  repeal  of  paper  duty  meant  the  arrival  of  a new  era  in  literature — of 
the  penny  newspaper,  of  the  popular  magazine,  and  of  cheap  reprints  of 
all  standard  authors. 

In  February,  1865,  that  delightful  diarist,  Greville,  wrote:  “When  I 
left  London  a fortnight  ago  the  world  was  anxiously  expecting  Gladstone’s 
speech,  in  which  he  was  to  put  the  Commercial  Treaty  and  the  Budget 
before  the  world.  His  own  confidence  and  that  of  most  of  his  colleagues 
in  his  success  was  unbounded,  but  many  inveighed  bitterly  against  the 
treaty.  Clarenden  shook  his  head,  Overstone  pronounced  against  the  treaty, 
the  Times  thundered  against  it,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  it  was  unpop- 
ular, and  becoming  more  so  every  day.  Then  came  Gladstone’s  illness. 

However,  at  the  end  of  his  two  days’  delay  he  came  forth  and, 
consensus  omnium^  achieved  one  of  the  greatest  triumphs  that  the  House  of 
Commons  ever  witnessed.”  It  appears  that  “ the  only  parties  not  gratified 
were  the  temperance  reformers,  who  did  not  like  the  cheap  Gladstone 
claret,  which  was  immediately  introduced  at  the  dinner  tables,  or  that 
clause  of  the  bill  which  gave  grocers  a license  to  sell  the  cheap  wines  of 
France.” 

At  this  time  Gladstone  and  Disraeli  were  the  recognized  leaders  of 
their  respective  parties.  Richard  Redgrave  gives  a lively  description  of 
Gladstone’s  reply  to  Disraeli’s  attack  on  the  French  treaty:  “Mr.  Glad- 


276 


OTHER  EVENTS  IN  OTHER  LANDS 


stone  was  in  such  a state  of  excitement  that  ever}^  one  dreaded  an  attack 
from  him  ; his  punishment  of  Mr.  Disraeli  was  most  ferocious.  He  was 
like  a Cherokee  Indian  fighting  ; he  first  knocked  down  his  adversary,  then 
he  stamped  on  him,  then  he  got  excited  and  danced  on  him  ; he  scalped 
him,  and  then  took  him  between  his  finger  and  thumb  like  a miserable 
insect,  and  looked  at  him,  and  held  him  up  to  contempt.”  Mr.  McCarthy’s 
more  judicious  criticism  may  be  quoted  here.  “ It  is  idle,”  he  sa3^s,  “ to  con- 
tend that  between  Gladstone  and  Disraeli  any  love  was  lost,  and  that  many 
people  thought  it  was  unhandsome  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Gladstone  not  to 
attend  his  great  rival’s  obsequies,  and  to  bur}^'  his  animosities  in  the  grave. 
In  1862  Disraeli  complained  to  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  that  he  and  others 
kept  the  church  as  Mr.  Gladstone’s  nest-egg  when  he  became  a Whig  until 
it  was  almost  addled.  At  this  time  Disraeli  wrote  : ^ I wish  3^011  could  have 
induced  Gladstone  to  have  joined  Lord  Derby’s  government  when  Lord 
Ellenborough  resigned  in  1858.  It  was  not  my  fault  that  he  did  not;  I 
almost  went  on  1113^  knees  to  him.  Had  he  done  so,  the  church  and  every- 
thing else  would  ha'^-e  been  in  a very  different  position.’  ” In  1867  the 
Bishop  of  Oxford  wrote  : “ The  most  wonderful  thing  is  the  rise  of  Disraeli. 
It  is  not  the  mere  assertion  of  talent,  as  you  hear  so  many  sa3^ ; it  seems 
to  me  quite  beside  that.  He  has  been  able  to  teach  the  House  of  Commons 
almost  to  ignore  Gladstone,  and  at  present  lords  it  over  him,  and,  I am  told, 
says  that  he  will  hold  him  down  for  twent3^  years.”  Later  on  Disraeli 
described  Gladstone  as  “ a sophistical  rhetorician,  intoxicated  with  the 
exuberance  of  his  own  verbosity,  and  gifted  with  an  egotistical  imagination 
that  at  all  times  can  command  an  interminable  and  inconsistent  series  of 
arguments  to  malign  his  opponents  and  to  glorif3^  himself.” 

It  has  been  said  of  Disraeli  that  he  was  never  happ3^  in  statement. 
When  he  had  to  explain  a policy,  say  a financial  one,  he  was  regarded  as  a 
dull  speaker.  Gladstone  was  particularly  brilliant  in  statement.  One  of 
his  admirers  says  that  “ he  could  give  to  an  exposition  of  figures  the  fasci- 
nation of  a romance  or  a poem.  Yet  he  was  not  the  equal  of  Disraeli  in 
the  gift  of  sarcasm,  and  what  Disraeli  himself  called  ‘flouts  and  jeers.’” 
As  a matter  of  fact  neither  one  of  them,  from  an  American  point  of  view, 
was  an  orator,  or  even  an  interesting  public  speaker. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War,  Gladstone  sided  with  the  South. 
Jefferson  Davis,  he  said,  had  made  a new  nation.  He  stated  this  in  a speech 
which  he  afterwards  repented.  The  Northern  States  did  not  whol^Horgive 
or  forget  the  statement.  In  1865  Bishop  Fraser  wrote : “ They  have  just 
got  hold  of  about  a dozen  subscribers  to  the  Confederate  loan,  among  whom 


OTHER  EVENTS  IN  OTHER  LANDS 


277 


is  W.  E.  Gladstone,  down,  to  my  surprise,  for  two  thousand  pounds.  This, 
as  you  might  expect,  is  a topic  for  excited  editorials,  and  the  cry  is 
that  the  American  government  ought  to  demand  his  dismissal  from  the 
ministry.” 

In  the  course  of  time  this  country  came  to  understand  Gladstone 
better,  and,  perhaps,  appreciate  him  more  ; but  the  Grand  Old  Man,  as  he 
was  called,  was  not  at  all  grand  in  any  of  the  many  critical  moments  of 
his  long  and  important  life. 


CHAPTER  XXX 


(EIGHTH  DECADE) 

OUR  “ CENTENNIAL  ” DECADE 

\^Risume. — After  the  great  War  of  the  Rebellion  came  the  period  of  Reconstruction  in  the  re-United 
States.  Until  the  opening  of  the  Eighth  Decade,  material  progress  aside,  the  story  of  our  country 
relates  little  else  than  political  agitation.] 

The  first  wish  of  those  who  had  been  most  prominent  in  putting  down 
the  Confederacy  was  that  the  Union  should  be  restored  as  quickly 
as  possible  to  its  former  state  with  the  exception  of  slavery.  They 
desired  that  the  armies  should  be  disbanded  and  that  the  men  who  had  been 
withdrawn  from  their  homes  and  industry  should  return  to  their  old  life. 
It  was  to  be  many  years,  however,  before  a harmonious  nation  could  take 
the  place  of  the  warring  Union.  The  terrible  war  had  laid  waste  the 
country  in  which  it  had  been  waged.  The  people  on  each  side  had  suffered 
in  the  loss  of  friends,  home,  and  property,  and  could  not  at  once  be  recon- 
ciled. The  great  change  which  had  taken  place  in  the  abolition  of  slavery 
reached  to  the  very  bottom  of  Southern  society  and  industry.  In  February, 
1865,  Congress  had  passed  the  Thirteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution, 
forever  bidding  slavery  in  the  land.  The  language  of  the  amendment  was 
borrowed  from  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  which  had  done  so  much  to  preserve 
the  great  Northwest  to  freedom.  The  amendment  was  accepted  in  the 
course  of  the  year  by  the  necessary  number  of  States.  The  assassination  of 
President  Lincoln  checked  the  movement  which  had  already  begun  for  the 
restoration  of  the  seceding  States.  People  who  had  been  ready  previously 
to  make  peace  with  those  who  had  been  leaders  in  the  Confederacy,  now 
were  ready  to  believe  that  the  spirit  which  had  brought  on  the  war  was 
unchanged. 

There  was  a demand  that  the  leaders  of  the  Confederacy  should  be 
tried  as  traitors  and  hanged,  but  a wiser  judgment  prevailed.  For  a long 
278 


OUR  CENTENNIAL"  DECADE 


27  V 


time,  however,  all  persons  who  had  previously  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  United  States,  and  then  had  broken  the  oath  taking  up  arms 
against  it,  were  debarred  from  holding  office  in  the  government  of  the 
United  States.  Upon  the  death  of  Lincoln,  Andrew  Johnson,  of  Ten- 
nessee, who  had  been  elected  Vice-President,  became  President.  He  had 
been  elected  by  the  Republican  party  as  representing  the  Union  men  of  the 
South.  He  was  not,  however,  in  full  sympathy  with  the  Republicans,  and 
it  soon  became  evident  that  there  was  a breach  between  the  President  and 
Congress,  which  constantly  widened.  The  war  had  been  fought  to  preserve 
the  Union,  but  it  had  also  necessarily  been  a war  to  extinguish  the  system 
of  slavery.  There  was,  therefore,  a strong  sentiment  at  the  North  against 
any  restoration  of  the  Union  which  should  leave  the  blacks  in  the  power  of 
their  former  masters.  A State  in  the  Union  could  pass  many  laws  which 
would  practically  prevent  the  freed  men  from  having  voice  in  the  govern- 
ment. Congress  passed  a bill  creating  what  was  known  as  the  Freedman’s 
Bureau,  a department  of  the  government  intended  to  provide  for  the  needs 
of  the  blacks,  who,  it  was  said,  were  the  wards  of  the  nation.  The  Presi- 
dent returned  the  bill  to  Congress  without  his  signature  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  an  interference  with  the  rights  of  the  States  in  which  the  freed  men 
lived.  The  bill  was  passed  over  the  President’s  veto.  Congress  then 
passed  a Civil  Rights  Bill,  by  which  freedmen  were  made  citizens  of  the 
United  States.  United  States  officers  were  instructed  to  protect  these  rights 
in  the  courts.  The  President  vetoed  this  bill  also,  but  Congress  passed  it 
over  the  veto. 

We  can  do  no  better  than  follow  the  synopsis  of  Dr.  Andrews,  who 
gives  an  excellent  and  impartial  narrative  of  American  history  under  this 
decade  : 

All  through  the  days  of  congressional  reconstruction  the  antagonism 
between  President  and  Congress  steadily  increased.  Every  step  in  the 
progress  encountered  the  President’s  uttermost  opposition  and  spite.  The 
irritation  finally  culminated  when  the  House  entered  articles  of  impeach- 
ment against  Johnson — the  only  case  of  the  kind  in  our  history  involving 
a President.  The  charges  were  tried  before  the  Senate,  the  Chief  Justice 
presiding,  and  occupied  three  weeks.  William  M.  Evarts  was  Johnson’s 
counsel,  and  a glittering  array  of  legal  talent  appeared  on  both  sides.  The 
main  charge  was  that  the  President  had  wilfully  violated  the  Tenure  of 
Office  Act  in  removing  Secretary  Stanton  from  the  Cabinet  after  the  Senate 
had  once  refused  to  concur  in  his  removal.  The  House  was  hasty  in  bring- 
ing the  prosecution.  The  President  was  acquitted  by  a vote  of  nineteen  for 


280 


OUR  CENTENNIAL'^  DECADE 


and  thirty-five  against  impeachment — one  vote  less  than  the  two-thirds 
necessary  to  impeach.  The  Johnson  Congressional  conflict  proved  one  of 
the  most  mortifying  episodes  in  our  countr^^’s  histor3^” 

The  Presidential  election  of  1868  was  decided  at  Appomattox.  General 
Grant  was  borne  to  the  White  House  on  a flood  tide  of  popularity,  carrying 
twenty-six  out  of  the  thirty-four  voting  States.  The  management  of  the 
South  was  the  most  serious  problem  before  the  new  Administration.  The 
whites  were  striving  by  every  means  possible  to  regain  political  power. 
The  reconstructed  State  government  depended  upon  black  majorities, 
which  were  too  strong  for  successful  resistance.  The  Ku-Klux  and 
similar  organizations  were  practically  a masked  army.  The  President 
was  appealed  to  for  military  aid,  and  he  responded.  Small  detachments 
of  United  States  troops  hurried  hither  and  thither.  Wherever  they 
appeared  resistance  ceased,  but  when  fresh  outbreaks  elsewhere  called 
the  soldiers  away,  the  fight  against  the  hated  State  government  was  imme- 
diatel}^  renewed.  The  negroes  soon  learned  to  stay  at  home  on  election 
days,  and  the  whites,  once  in  the  saddle,  were  too  skillful  riders  to  be  thrown. 
Congress,  meanwhile,  still  strongly  Republican,  was  taking  active  measures 
to  protect  the  blacks.  In  1870  it  passed  an  act  imposing  fines  and  damages 
for  a conspiracy  to  deprive  negroes  of  the  suffrage.  The  Force  Act  of  1871 
was  a much  harsher  measure.  It  empowered  the  President  to  employ  the 
ariii}^,  navy,  and  militia  to  suppress  combinations  which  deprived  the  negro 
of  the  rights  guaranteed  him  by  the  Fourteenth  Amendment.  For  such 
combinations  to  appear  in  arms  was  made  rebellion  against  the  United 
States,  and  the  President  might  suspend  habeas  corpus  in  the  rebellious 
districts.  President  Grant,  in  the  fall  of  1871,  this  was  actually  done 
in  parts  of  the  Carolinas.  State  registration  and  elections  were  to  be 
supervised  by  United  States  marshals,  who  could  command  the  help  of  the 
United  States  military  or  naval  forces. 

The  Force  Act  outran  popular  feeling.  It  came  dangerously  near  the 
practical  suspension  of  State  government  in  the  South,  and  many  at  the 
North,  including  Republicans,  thought  the  latter  result  a greater  evil  than 
even  the  temporar}^  abe3mnce  of  negro  suffrage.  The  “ Liberal  Republi- 
cans ” bolted.  In  1872  they  nominated  Horace  Greeley  for  the  Presidency, 
and  adopted  a platform  declaring  local  self-government  a better  safeguard 
for  the  rights  of  all  citizens  than  centralized  power.  The  platform  also 
protested  against  the  supremacy  of  the  military  over  the  civil  powers,  and 
the  suspension  of  habeas  corpus,  and  favored  universal  amnesty  to  the  late 
rebels.  Charles  Sumner,  Stanley  Matthews,  Carl  Schurz,  David  A.  Wells, 


OUR  CENTENNIAL'^  DECADE 


281 


and  many  other  prominent  Republicans  united  in  the  opposition.  Think- 
ing their  opportunity  had  come,  the  Democrats  endorsed  the  Liberals’  plat- 
form and  nominees.  The  Republicans  renominated  Grant  by  acclamation, 
and  Henry  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  joined  with  him  on  the  ticket. 

As  the  campaign  went  on,  the  Greeley  movement  developed  remarkable 
strength  and  remarkable  weakness.  Speaking  for  years  through  the  New 
York  Tribune^  Mr.  Greeley  had  won,  in  an  extraordinary  degree,  the  respect 
and  even  affection  of  the  country.  His  offer  to  give  bail  for  Jefferson  Davis 
in  his  imprisonment,  and  his  staunch  advocacy  of  mercy  to  all  who  had 
engaged  in  rebellion  so  soon  as  they  had  grounded  arms,  made  him  hosts  of 
friends  even  in  the  South.  He  took  the  stump  himself,  making  the  tour  of 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  Indiana,  and  crowds  of  Republicans  came  to  see 
and  hear  their  former  champion.  But  the  Democrats  could  not  heartily 
unite  in  the  support  of  such  a lifelong  and  bitter  opponent  of  their  party. 
Some  supported  a third  ticket,  while  many  others  did  not  vote  at  all.  Mr. 
Greeley,  too,  an  ardent  protectionist,  was  not  popular  with  the  influential  free- 
trade  element  among  the  Liberals  themselves.  The  election  resulted  in  a 
sweeping  victory  for  the  Republican  ticket.  The  Democrats  carried  but  six 
States,  and  those  were  all  in  the  South.  Within  a month  after  the  election, 
Mr.  Greeley  died,  broken  down  by  over-exertion,  family  bereavement,  and 
disappointed  ambition. 

Troubles  in  the  South  continued  during  Grant’s  second  term.  The 
turmoil  reached  its  height  in  Louisiana  in  1874.  Ever  since  1872  the  whites 
in  that  State  had  been  chafing  under  Republican  rule.  The  election  of 
Governor  Kellogg  was  disputed  and  he  was  accused  of  having  plunged  the  State 
into  ruinous  debt.  In  August,  1874,  a disturbance  occurred  which  ended  in 
the  deliberate  shooting  of  six  Republican  officials.  President  Grant  pre- 
pared to  send  military  aid  to  the  Kellogg  government.  Thereupon  Penn, 
the  defeated  candidate  for  Lieutenant-governor  in  1872,  issued  an  address  to 
the  people,  claiming  to  be  the  lawful  executive  of  Louisiana,  and  calling 
upon  the  State  militia  to  arm  and  drive  the  “ usurpers  from  power.”  Barri- 
cades were  thrown  up  in  the  streets  of  New  Orleans,  and  on  September  14 
a severe  fight  took  place  between  the  insurgents  and  the  State  forces,  in 
which  a dozen  were  killed  on  each  side.  On  the  next  day  the  State  House 
was  surrendered  to  the  militia,  ten  thousand  of  whom  had  responded  to 
Penn’s  call.  Governor  Kellogg  took  refuge  in  the  Custom  House.  Penn 
was  formally  inducted  into  office.*  United  States  troops  hurried  to  the  scene. 
Agreeably  to  their  professions  of  loyalty  toward  the  Federal  Government, 
the  insurgents  surrendered  the  State  property  to  the  United  States  authorities 


282 


OUR  CENTENNIAL^  DECADE 


without  resistance,  but  under  protest.  The  Kellogg  government  was 
re-instated. 

Troops  at  the  polls  secured  quiet  in  the  November  elections.  The  return- 
ing board  decided  that  the  Republicans  had  elected  their  Governor  and  fifty- 
four  members  of  the  Legislature.  Fifty-two  members  were  Democratic,  while 
the  election  of  five  members  remained  in  doubt  and  was  left  to  the  decision 
of  the  Legislature.  The  Democrats  vehemently  protested  against  the  decision 
of  the  returning  board,  claiming  an  all-round  victory.  Fearing  trouble  at 
the  assembling  of  the  Legislature  in  January,  1875,  President  Grant  placed 
General  Sheridan  in  command  at  New  Orleans.  The  Legislature  met 
on  January  4.  Our  reports  of  what  followed  are  conflicting.  The  admitted 
facts  are  that  the  Democratic  ‘ members,  lawfully  or  unlawfully,  placed  a 
speaker  in  the  chair.  Some  disorder  ensuing,  United  States  soldiers  were 
called  in  and,  at  the  request  of  the  Democratic  speaker,  restored  quiet.  The 
Republicans  meanwhile  had  left  the  house.  The  Democrats  then  elected 
members  to  fill  the  five  seats  left  vacant  by  the  returning  board.  Later  in 
the  day.  United  States  troops,  under  orders  from  Governor  Kellogg,  to  whom 
the  Republican  legislators  had  appealed,  ejected  the  five  new  members.  The 
Republicans  re-entered  the  house,  and  the  Democrats  thereupon  withdrew. 
Subsequently  a congressional  committee  made  unsuccessful  attempts  to  settle 
the  dispute.  The  Democratic  members  finally  returned,  and  a sullen  acqui- 
escence in  the  Kellogg  government  gradually  prevailed. 

By  1876  every  Southern  State  was  solidly  Democratic  except  Louisiana, 
South  Carolina,  and  Florida,  and  in  these  Republican  governments  were 
upheld  only  by  the  bayonet.  The  Presidential  election  of  1876  was  a con- 
test of  general  tendencies  rather  than  of  definite  principles.  The  opposing 
parties  were  more  nearly  matched  than  they  had  been  since  i860.  The 
Democrats  nominated  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  of  New  York,  and  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks,  of  Indiana.  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio,  and  William  A. 
Wheeler,  of  New  York,  became  the  Republican  standard-bearers.  The 
election  passed  off  quietly,  troops  being  stationed  at  all  the  polls  in  tur- 
bulent quarters.  Mr.  Tilden  carried  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Indiana,  and 
Connecticut.  With  a solid  South,  he  had  won  the  day.  But  the  returning 
boards  of  Louisiana,  Florida,  and  vSouth  Carolina,  throwing  out  the  votes  of 
several  Democratic  districts  on  account  of  alleged  fraud  or  intimidation,  de- 
cided that  those  States  had  gone  Republican,  giving  Hayes  a majority  of  one 
in  the  electoral  college.  Suppressed  excitement  pervaded  the  country.  Threats 
were  even  muttered  that  Hayes  would  never  be  inaugurated.  President 
Grant  quietly  strengthened  the  military  force  in  and  about  Washington. 


possessions  in  Italy  except  Venice. 


CAVALRY  ATTA(^K,  RATTLE  OF  SEDAN. 

Sedan  was  France’s  second  Waterloo.  The  decisive  battle  was  fought  Septetnher  1,  1870,  and  ended  in  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  French.  Sedan  capitulated,  the  Emperor 
Napoleon  gave  up  Itis  sword,  and  tlie  entire  army  of  8;),000  men  Avere  made  prisoners  of  war.  It  was  one  of  the  most  stupendous  victories  on  record,  and  proved  the  death  blow  of 
“ Napoleouism  ” in  France. 


OUR  ‘‘  CENTENNIAL^'  DECADE 


283 


The  countr}^  looked  to  Congress  for  a peaceful  solution  of  the  problem,  and 
not  in  vain.  The  Constitution  provides  that  “the  President  of  the  Senate 
shall,  in  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the 
(electoral)  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted.”  Certain  Repub- 
licans held  that  the  power  to  count  the  votes  lay  with  the  President  of  the 
Senate,  the  House  and  Senate  being  mere  spectators.  The  Democrats 
naturally  objected  to  this  construction,  since  Mr.  Ferry,  the  Republican  Pres- 
ident of  the  Senate,  could  then  count  the  votes  of  the  disputed  States  for 
Hayes.  The  Democrats  insisted  that  Congress  should  continue  the  practice 
followed  since  1865,  which  was  that  no  vote  objected  to  should  be  counted 
except  by  the  concurrence  of  both  houses.  The  House  was  strongly  Demo- 
cratic ; by  throwing  out  the  vote  of  one  State  it  could  elect  Tilden. 

The  deadlock  could  be  broken  only  by  a compromise.  A joint  com- 
mittee reported  the  famous  Electoral  Commission  Bill,  which  passed  House 
and  Senate  by  large  majorities;  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  Democrats 
voting  for  the  bill  and  eighteen  against  it,  while  the  Republican  vote  stood 
fifty-two  for  and  seventy-five  against.  The  bill  created  a commission  ot 
five  Senators,  five  Representatives,  and  five  Justices  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court,  the  fifth  Justice  being  chosen  by  the  four  appointed  in  the 
bill.  Previous  to  this  choice  the  commission  contained  seven  Democrats 
and  seven  Republicans.  It  was  expected  that  the  fifth  Justice  would  be 
Hon.  David  Davis,  of  Illinois,  a neutral  with  Democratic  leanings  ; but  his 
unexpected  election  as  Democratic  Senator  from  his  State  caused  Justice 
Bradley  to  be  selected  to  the  post  of  decisive  umpire.  The  votes  of  all  dis- 
puted States  were  to  be  submitted  to  the  commission  for  decision. 

It  was  drawing  perilously  near  to  inauguration  day.  The  commission 
met  on  the  last  da}^'  of  January.  The  cases  of  Florida,  Louisiana,  Oregon, 
and  South  Carolina  were  in  succession  submitted  to  it  by  Congress.  Emi- 
nent counsel  appeared  for  each  side.  There  were  double  sets  of  returns 
from  every  one  of  the  States  named.  In  the  three  Southern  States  the 
Governor  recognized  by  the  United  States  had  signed  the  Republican  cer- 
tificates. The  Democratic  certificates  from  Florida  were  signed  by  the 
State  Attorney-General  and  the  new  Democratic  Governor ; those  from 
Louisiana  by  the  Democratic  gubernatorial  candidate,  who  claimed  to  be 
the  lawful  Governor;  from  South  Carolina  by  no  State  oificial,  the  Tilden 
electors  simply  claiming  to  have  been  chosen  by  the  popular  vote  and  re- 
jected by  the  returning  board.  In  Oregon  the  Democratic  Governor 
declared  one  of  the  Hayes  electors  ineligible  because  an  office-holder,  and 
gave  a certificate  to  Cronin,  the  highest  Tilden  elector,  instead.  The  two 


284 


OUR  CENTENNIAL''  DECADE 


Hayes  electors  refused  to  recognize  Cronin,  and,  associating  with  them  the 
rejected  Republican  elector,  presented  a certificate  signed  by  the  Secretary 
of  State.  Cronin,  appointing  two  new  electors  to  act  with  him,  cast  his  vote 
for  Tilden,  his  associates  voting  for  Hayes.  This  certificate  was  signed  by 
the  Governor  and  attested  by  the  Secretary  of  State. 

After  deciding  not  to  go  behind  any  returns  which  were  pr  ima  facie 
lawful,  the  commission,  by  a strict  party  vote  of  eight  to  seven,  gave  a 
decision  for  the  Hayes  electors  in  every  case.  March  2 it  adjourned,  and 
three  days  later  Hayes  was  inaugurated  without  disturbance.  The  whole 
country  heaved  a sigh  of  relief  All  agreed  that  provision  must  be  made 
against  such  peril  in  the  future,  but  it  was  not  until  late  in  1886  that  Con- 
gress could  agree  upon  the  necessary  measure.  The  Electoral  Count  Bill 
was  then  passed  and  signed  by  the  President  on  February  3,  1887.  It  aims 
to  throw  upon  each  State,  so  far  as  possible,  the  responsibility  of  determin- 
ing how  its  own  Presidential  vote  has  been  cast.  It  provides  that  the 
President  of  the  Senate  shall  open  the  electoral  certificates  in  the  presence 
of  both  houses  and  hand  them  to  the  tellers,  two  from  each  house,  who  are 
to  read  them  aloud  and  record  the  votes.  If  there  has  been  no  dispute  as 
to  the  list  of  electors  from  a State,  such  list,  where  certified  in  due  form,  is 
to  be  accepted  as  a matter  of  course.  In  case  of  dispute  the  procedure  is  as 
follows : If  but  one  set  of  returns  appear  and  this  is  authenticated  by  a 
State  electoral  tribunal  constituted  to  settle  the  dispute,  such  returns  shall 
be  conclusive.  If  there  are  two  or  more  sets  of  returns,  the  set  approved 
by  the  State  tribunal  shall  be  accepted.  If  there  are  two  rival  tribunals, 
the  vote  of  the  State  shall  be  thrown  out,  unless  both  houses,  acting  sepa- 
rately, agree  upon  the  lawfulness  of  one  tribunal  or  the  other.  If  there 
has  been  no  decision  by  a tribunal,  those  votes  shall  be  counted  which  both 
houses,  acting  separately,  decide  to  be  lawful.  If  the  houses  disagree,  the 
votes  certified  to  by  the  Governor  shall  be  accepted. 

President  Hayes’  first  important  action  was  the  withdrawal  of  troops 
from  Soiith  Carolina  and  Louisiana,  where  the  rival  governments  existed 
side  by  side.  The  Republican  government  at  once  fell  to  the  ground.  As 
the  Democrats  had  already  got  control  of  Florida,  the  “ solid  South  ” 'was 
now  an  accomplished  fact.  Financial  questions  were  those  which  chiefly 
occupied  the  public  mind  during  Hayes’  administration.  Returning  from 
a remarkable  tour  around  the  world  General  Grant  became,  in  1880,  a can- 
didate for  a third-term  nomination.  The  deadlock  in  the  Republican  con- 
vention between  him  and  Mr.  Blaine  was  broken  by  the  nomination  of 
James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio.  Chester  A.  Arthur,  of  New  York,  was  the 


OUR  CENTENNTATr  DECADE 


285 


Vice-Presidential  candidate.  The  Democrats  nominated  the  hero  of  Get- 
tysburg, the  brave  and  chivalrous  General  W.  S.  Hancock,  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  William  H.  English,  of  Indiana.  Garfield  was  elected,  receiving  214 
electoral  votes  against  155  for  Hancock.  Hancock  carried  every  Southern 
State  ; Garfield  every  Northern  State  except  New  Jersey,  Nevada,  and  Cali- 
fornia. 

The  year  1871  was  marked  by  the  conclusion  of  an  important  treaty 
between  England  and  the  United  States.  Besides  settling  certain  questions 
which  threatened  the  friendly  relations  of  the  two  countries,  the  treaty 
enunciated  important  principles  of  international  law,  and  afforded  the 
world  a shining  instance  of  peaceful  arbitration  as  a substitute  for  the  horrors 
of  war.  Ever  since  1863  the  United  States  had  been  seeking  satisfaction 
from  Great  Britain  for  the  depredations  committed  by  the  “Alabama”  and 
other  Confederate  cruisers  sailing  from  English  ports.  Negotiations  were 
broken  off  in  1865  and  again  in  1S68.  The  next  year  Reverdy  Johnson, 
American  Minister  to  England,  negotiated  a treaty,  but  it  was  rejected  by 
the  Senate.  In  January,  1871,  the  British  Government  proposed  a joint 
commission  for  the  settlement  of  questions  with  the  Canadian  fisheries. 
Mr.  Fish,  our  Secretary  of  State,  replied  that  the  settlement  of  the  “ Ala- 
bama claims  ” would  be  “ essential  to  the  restoration  of  cordial  and  amica- 
ble relations  between  the  two  governments.”  England  consented  to 
submit  this  question  also  to  the  commission,  and  it  was  settled  satisfactoril}^ 
The  tribunal  at  Geneva  awarded  $15,500,000  damages  in  gold  for  the  ves- 
sels and  cargoes  destroyed.  The  award  naturally  gave  great  satisfaction  in 
the  United  States.  The  money  compensation  was  in  itself  a source  of  con- 
siderable gratulation ; but  the  fact  that  stiff-backed  England  had,  by  a 
clearly  impartial  tribunal  of  the  highest  character,  been  declared  in  the 
wrong  was  not  the  least  pleasurable  side  of  the  result. 

Congress  authorized  a reform  of  the  civil  service  in  1871,  only  to 
abandon  it  again  for  the  spoils  system  in  1874.  An  Act  of  July  14,  1870, 
amended  the  naturalization  laws.  It  admitted  to  citizenship,  besides  “ free 
white  persons,”  “ aliens  of  African  nativity  and  persons  of  African  descent.” 
This  was  a completion  of  the  policy  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the 
Constitution.  It  also  made  stringent  provisions  against  the  frandnlent  natur- 
alization and  registration  of  aliens,  appointing  Federal  supervision  to  enforce 
its  regulations  in  that  regard  in  cities  of  over  twenty  thousand  inhabitants. 
January  14.  1875,  an  Act  became  law  which  provided  for  the  resumption  of 
specie  pa3unents  by  the  government  on  the  ist  of  January,  1879.  Congress 
had  very  narrowly  escaped  being  deprived  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 


286 


OUR  ‘‘CENTENNIAL'^  DECADE 


power  of  making  its  irredeemable  paper  issues  legal  tender  for  all  debts,  as 
it  bad  done  in  1862.  A decision  of  that  court,  rendered  in  December,  1869, 
pronounced  such  legislation  unconstitutional.  But  tbe  decision  was  agreed 
to  by  only  a small  majority  of  tbe  justices  ; by  tbe  following  spring  tbe 
personnel  of  tbe  court  bad  been  materially  altered  by  tbe  appointment  of 
two  new  justices;  and  in  March,  1870,  tbe  court,  thus  re-organized,  reversed' 
the  decision  of  December,  and  affirmed  tbe  constitutionality  of  tbe  legisla- 
tion of  1862.  Tbe  resumption  of  specie  payments,  however,  was  none  tbe 
less  imperatively  demanded  by  tbe  business  sense  of  tbe  country. 


VON  MOLTKE  BEFORE  PARIS. 

The  city  of  Paris  was  invested  t)y  the  Prussians,  Septeuiber  I'J,  1870.  The  armies  of  the  Crown  Princes  of  Prussia  and  Saxony  numbered  over  200,000  nien,  all  under  the 
cotuma'id  of  GeoeraJ  Moltke,  Head  of  tde  Prussian  General  Staff.  After  a trying  siege  and  brave  defeupc,  Paris  was  comj>elled  to  capitulate  January  28,  1871. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 


(EIGHTH  DECADE) 

THE  FRANCO-PRUSSIAN  WAR 


\^Resume. — We  have  seen  Bismarck  advanced  to  the  head  of  affairs  in  Prussia,  and  have  witnessed  the 
second  Schleswig-Holstein  war,  and  the  consequential  war  between  Prussia  and  Austria.  Also  the 
forming  of  the  North  German  Confederation.] 

IN  1868  Spain  had  dismissed  its  Bourbon  queen  regent,  and  since  then 
had  been  trying  to  form  a settled  government.  Finally  it  was  sug- 
gested that  the  crown  be  offered  to  Prince  Leopold,  of  Hohenzollern- 
Sigmaringen,  a very  distant  relative  of  the  Prussian  royal  house.  The 
news  of  his  acceptance  of  the  candidature  aroused  a storm  of  indignation 
in  Paris.  The  King  of  Prussia  was  called  on  by  the  French  government 
to  order  Leopold  to  withdraw.  This  course  was  declined  ; but  nevertheless 
in  a few  days  the  prince  withdrew.  It  would  seem  that  this  should  have 
ended  the  matter.  But  the  French  government,  carried  away  by  popular 
clamor,  now  insisted  that  King  William  should  give  a guarantee  against  a 
renewal  of  the  candidacy.  This  was  promptly  refused,  and  France  imme- 
diately declared  war.  Napoleon  expected  to  form  an  alliance  with  Austria 
and  Italy.  As  a preliminary,  his  troops  must  first  penetrate  south  Germany 
and  insure  the  neutrality  of  those  states.  But  here  came  the  collapse. 
The  French  military  administration  was  rotten  and  inefficient.  The  troops 
could  not  be  mobilized  in  time,  and  so  nothing  was  done  by  way  of  invasion. 
Meanwhile  the  Prussian  armies  were  gathered  with  tremendous  energy, 
and  by  August  the  tables  were  turned.  The  magnificent  military  machine 
which  had  been  manufactured  by  Bismarck  and  Moltke,  and  which  had 
been  tried  in  two  wars,  was  now  hurled  against  France.  The  impact  was 
irresistible.  In  battle  after  battle  the  French  armies  were  broken  and 
driven  back.  Outgeneraled,  outfought,  cut  to  pieces,  the  French  armies 
were  crushed  and  scattered.  Bazaine  was  shut  up  in  Metz.  Napoleon 

287 


288 


THE  FRANCO-PRUSSIAN  WAR 


himself,  with  MacMahon’s  army  was  defeated  and  surrounded  at  Sedan, 
near  the  Belgian  frontier,  and  on  the  2d  of  September  was  compelled  to 
surrender.  When  news  of  Sedan  reached  Paris,  the  imperial  government 
was  at  once  overturned,  and  replaced  by  a “ Government  of  National 
Defence.”  The  most  desperate  and  heroic  exertions  were  made  to  roll  back 
the  tide  of  invasion,  but  the  odds  were  too  heavy.  Before  the  end  of 
October  Bazaine  surrendered  Metz  with  the  last  great  army  of  France,  and 
three  months  later  Paris  yielded  to  its  besiegers.  A National  Assembly 
was  elected  in  February,  and  peace  was  made  with  heavy  loss.  Alsace  and 
Lorraine  were  annexed  to  Germany,  and  a war  indemnity  of  five  milliards 
of  francs  ($1,000,000,000)  were  paid  by  the  conquered  nation. 

In  the  meantime,  German  unity  had  been  made  complete.  The  enthu- 
siasm of  national  spirit  brought  all  Germany,  south  as  well  as  north, 
shoulder  to  shoulder  to  resist  invasion.  And  in  the  joy  of  victory  the 
jealousies  which  had  sufficed  to  keep  Germany  asunder  were  broken  down. 
Treaties  were  made  successively  with  the  south  German  states  by  which 
the  north  German  union  was  enlarged  to  include  all.  And  then  the 
imperial  dignity  was  tendered  to  the  Prussian  king.  The  German  federal 
empire  was  established,  and  on  the  i8th  of  January,  1871,  in  the  stately 
hall  of  mirrors  of  the  old  palace  of  Versailles,  King  William  was  formally 
proclaimed  German  Emperor. 

The  policy  of  “blood  and  iron”  was  justified  by  its  fruits.  Austria 
had  been  expelled  from  Germany  ; Prussia  had  been  extended  and  had 
overmastering  power ; and  now  the  very  attack  which  had  been  intended  to 
undo  the  work  of  1866  had,  in  fact,  made  that  work  complete.  It  was  the 
fire  of  French  battle  and  the  blood  of  French  defeat  which  cemented  the 
German  imperial  federation  in  solid  union. 

We  have  given  above  a rapid  statement  of  a very  dramatic  situation. 
Let  us  regard  it  in  detail.  The  events  of  Sedan  settled  the  fate  of  Paris. 
The  government,  at  whose  head  stood  the  Empress  Eugenie  as  regent,  and 
Count  Palikas  as  prime  minister,  sought  to  conceal  the  bad  news.  “ But 
already,”  says  Sonnenberg,  “ on  the  afternoon  of  September  3,  dark  rumors 
of  the  great  defeat  were  circulated  in  Paris,  and  the  excitement  of  the 
people  was  intense.  During  the  following  night  the  Empress  Eugenie  fled 
through  Belgium  to  England,  and  on  September  4,  the  republic  was  pro- 
claimed. At  the  head  of  the  new  government  appeared  the  two  advocates, 
Leon  Gambetta  and  Jules  Favre.  They  immediately  made  the  pompous  proc- 
lamation : “The  G'ermans  shall  obtain  no  tribute  except  as  we  desire ; they 
shall  gain  not  a stone  of  our  fortresses  !”  They  sent  the  celebrated  author, 


THE  FRANCO-PRUSSIAN  WAR 


289 


Thiers,  to  the  courts  of  Europe  to  beg  for  help  ; but  no  one  showed  any 
desire  to  meddle  in  behalf  of  France,  with  the  victories  of  Koniggratz  and 
Sedan.  To  the  Prussian  ambassadors  in  foreign  countries.  Count  Bismarck 
directed  a circular,  in  which  he  elucidated  upon  the  situation  from  a German 
standpoint.  “ Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves.  We  must  not  look  for  an  en- 
during peace,  but  must  be  prepared  for  a new  attack  from  France  no 
matter  what  conditions  we  impose.  The  French  nation  will  never  forgive 
us  their  defeat,  and  our  victorious  repulse  of  their  wanton  attack.  If  now 
we  do  not  reap  such  advantages  as  the  jurisdiction  of  surrender  awards, 
still  France  will  cherish  toward  us  the  same  hatred  and  desire  for  revenge 
springing  from  her  wounded  vanity  and  lust  for  power.  She  will  only 
wait  for  the  day  when  she  can  change  these  bitter  feelings  into  hostile 
action.  Such  an  effort  as  the  German  people  have  made  to-day  cannot  be 
repeated,  and  we  are  therefore  forced  to  demand  material  security  for  our 
safety  against  the  future  attacks  of  France,  and  security  for  the  peace  of 
Europe,  which  need  fear  no  disturbance  from  German}^  We  do  not  demand 
these  securities  from  a transitory  French  Government,  but  from  the  French 
nation,  which  has  shown  itself  read}^  to  follow  any  leadership  in  the  war 
against  us,  as  is  unquestionably  proved  by  the  aggressive  wars  which 
France  has  carried  on  for  centuries  against  Germany.  We  can,  therefore, 
regulate  our  demands  for  peace,  with  the  object  of  making  more  difficult 
the  next  attack  of  France  upon  German}^  and  especially  upon  the  hitherto 
defenceless  South  German  boundaries.  To  do  this  we  must  extend  these 
boundaries  and  thus  remove  further  away  the  point  of  departure  of  French 
attacks.  We  must  seek  to  bring  under  the  power  of  Germany,  as  defen- 
sive bulwarks,  these  fortifications  with  which  France  now  threatens  us. 
We  will  demand  future  security  as  the  price  of  our  present  efforts.  No 
one  can  reproach  us  with  lack  of  moderation,  if  we  hold  fast  to  these 
righteous  and  reasonable  demands.” 

The  new  government  in  Paris  had  manifested  a feverish  activity,  but 
there  was  entirely  lacking  the  tranquil  firmness  of  the  German  military 
government,  and  especially  its  experience.  As  soon  as  it  was  known  that 
the  Germans  had  commenced  their  march  to  Paris,  the  French  Government 
ordered  all  villages  and  forests  in  a large  circle  about  the  capital  to  be  burned 
down.  This  occasioned  immense  losses  to  themselves  and  but  little  disad- 
vantage to  the  German  troops.  The  French  were  indebted  to  the  arrival 
of  the  German  army  for  an  arrest  of  this  senseless  destruction.  Imme- 
diately after  the  fall  of  Sedan  the  third  and  fourth  armies  marched  toward 
Paris.  On  September  19  the  Bavarians,  who  approached  from  the  north- 


290 


THE  FRANCO-PRUSSIAN  WAR 


east,  caught  first  glimpse  of  the  spires  and  towers  of  the  great  city.  Paris 
is  situated  at  the  confluence  of  the  Marne  and  the  Oise  with  the  Seine,  which 
here  flows  in  a half  circle  from  east  to  west  and  divides  the  city  into  two 
parts,  of  which  the  northern  is  the  greater.  In  the  year  1870  more  than 
twenty  bridges  united  the  northern  and  southern  divisions.  The  area 
which  the  city  then  covered  was  seven  and  one-half  square  miles,  its 
circumference  being  twenty-two  and  one-half  miles.  The  nearest  environ- 
ments of  the  gigantic  city,  in  a distance  of  only  two  and  one-half  miles, 
contained  forty  districts ; among  them,  in  the  northeast,  St.  Denis, 
with  at  that  time  twenty-six  thousand  inhabitants.  At  a distance  of  only 
seven  and  a half  miles  lay  Germain  with  seventeen  thousand,  and  Versailles 
with  forty-four  thousand  inhabitants.  Since  1841  Paris  had  been  made  into 
a fortress,  at  the  instigation  of  the  prime  minister  of  that  time,  Thiers, 
under  the  government  of  Louis  Philippe.  The  city  was  surrounded  by  a 
strong  military  wall,  military  roads,  ramparts,  ditches,  and  glacis.  Eighty- 
five  projecting  works  stretched  over  the  outlying  lands  ; there  were  ditches 
thirty-five  paces  wide,  and  the  ramparts  of  the  fortification  were  pierced  by 
sixty-six  gates.  Outside  the  wall,  at  a distance  of  two  and  one-half  miles,  lay 
fifteen  little  outposts,  partially  connected  with  one  another  by  intrenchments. 
The  strongest  of  these  outposts  was  St.  Denis,  which  could  be  covered  by  an 
artificial  inundation.  The  west  side  was  especially  strong  by  nature,  for 
here  the  Seine  formed  a broad  line  of  protection  from  north  to  south.  On 
the  western  side  was  but  a single  fort,  but  most  important  of  all  was  the  one 
on  the  mountain  St.  Valerien,  which,  from  its  position,  one  hundred  and 
forty  meters  high,  controlled  the  whole  neighborhood.  A line  of  inclosure 
thirty-seven  and  one-half  miles  long,  connected  all  the  outworks  with  one 
another.  All  works  had  telegraphic  communication.  The  German  block- 
ading troops  had  to  be  placed  beyond  range  of  these  Parisian  outworks,  so 
their  circle  of  camps  stretched  out  for  more  than  fifty  miles.  Southwest  of 
the  capital  lies  Versailles,  the  celebrated  residence  of  Louis  XIV.  On  Sep- 
tember 19,  1870,  Paris  was  invested  by  German  troops.  On  October  5 the 
great  German  headquarters  were  removed  to  Versailles.  Count  Bismarck 
was  assigned  a residence  of  only  two  rooms  in  the  Rue  de  Provence,  belong- 
ing to  Madame  Jesse.  While  Moltke  was  working  at  the  siege  of  Paris  and 
directing  the  undertaking  at  Metz  and  Strasburg  and  other  parts  of  the 
French  territory,  no  less  important  work  was  being  done  by  Bismarck.  He 
had  to  make  a favorable  peace  with  France  by  keeping  at  a distance  all  armed 
interference  of  foreign  countries,  and  he  was  also  trying  to  complete  the  work 
of  German  unity,  so  often  attempted  and  so  often  unsuccessful. 


THE  FRANCO-PRUSSIAN  WAR 


291 


The  solution  of  this  problem  was  urgent,  for  Austria  had  already 
joined  with  the  South  German  states,  seeking  to  draw  them  into  a federation. 

Some  intelligent  Frenchmen,  Thiers  among  them,  sought  to  aid  the 
work  of  peace.  During  his  diplomatic  circuit  Thiers  had  become  convinced 
that  France  could  expect  no  aid  from  foreign  powers.  England  had  urgently 
advised  him  to  make  peace  as  soon  as  possible.  He  therefore  went  to  solicit 
favorable  terms  from  Bismarck,  who  had  known  him  years  before,  and  who 
received  him  kindly.  Negotiations  were  begun  on  November  i.  The  Ger- 
mans made  great  concessions.  They  consented  to  a truce  of  four  weeks,  so 
that  during  that  time  elections  might  be  held  for  a national  assembly,  which 
Bismarck  permitted  even  in  Alsace.  The  Germans  also  intimated  that  they 
would  not  hinder  Paris  from  being  supplied  with  provisions,  on  condition  of 
the  concession  of  two  Parisian  outworks.  Thiers  was  willing  to  these  con- 
ditions, but  the  government  at  Paris,  not  yet  comprehending  the  gravity  of 
the  French  situation,  rejected  the  negotiations  at  Versailles  before  a conclu- 
sion could  be  reached.  General  Trochu  said  bitterly  in  Paris  : “ We  are  not 
yet  so  defeated  as  to  lose  our  reason.”  Thus  the  war  advanced.  The  iron 
circle  drawn  about  Paris  became  every  day  narrower,  and  every  attack 
weakened  the  garrison  more  and  more.  The  German  troops  were  the  best 
in  the  world  in  their  improvements  and  equipments,  and  in  order  to  drive 
this  matchless  army  from  “ holy  France,”  the  government  at  Paris  ordered 
the  arming  of  the  whole  people,  while  newspapers  advocated  murder  by 
poison,  treachery,  and  every  conceivable  means.  They  said  every  French- 
man should  keep  his  rifle  ready  at  home  so  as  to  be  able  to  shoot  down  the 
Germans  like  wild  beasts  from  an  ambush  at  night.  Now  appeared  the 
societies  called  Franc-tireurs  or  Free-shots.  In  every  city  of  France  that 
was  not  yet  occupied  by  the  Germans  there  were  established  so-called  Mobile 
Guards.  An  Englishman,  himself  an  officer,  gives  the  following  picture  of 
the  Mobile  Guard  from  his  own  observation : “ The  appearance  of  these 
people  inspires  in  me  a sad  regret  that  France  should  trust  to  such  creatures 
to  drive  the  enemy  from  her  soil.  To  imagine  these  people,  take  the  worst 
vagabond  in  London,  let  him  thoroughly  sweat  and  roll  him  through  the 
dust.  Then  put  a little  red  epaulet  on  his  sleeve,  give  him  a gun,  which 
he  does  not  know  how  to  carry,  and  a bayonet  of  whose  use  he  has  not  the 
slightest  suspicion,  let  him  parade  up  and  down  once  or  twice  a day,  and 
disturb  him  as  little  as  possible.  They  have  superior  officers  who  have  never 
served,  who  cannot  command,  and  whom  the  soldier  thoroughly  despises. 
When  they  have  nothing  to  do,  which  is  eleven-twelfths  of  their  time,  they 
listen  to  talk  about  the  elevation  of  the  masses,  and  the  restoration  of 


292 


THE  FRANCO-PRUSSIAN  WAR 


the  war  glory  of  France.  And  when  the  agitators  have  taken  from  these 
men  the  small  amount  of  industry  which  they  possessed,  and  made 
them  indolent  city  loafers,  they  become  good  models  of  the  French  Mobile 
Guards  of  to-day.”  The  illusion  and  vanity  of  the  French  people  renewed 
the  terrors  of  war  and  negatived  all  attempts  at  peace. 

All  this  time  Count  Bismarck  was  engaged  in  the  difficult  work  of 
bringing  all  the  governments  and  people  of  Germany  under  one  protection. 
In  his  wisdom,  he  had  hitherto  avoided  anything  that  would  appear  like 
pressure  on  the  confederation  of  the  remote  South  German  states.  He  wished 
that  the  union  should  first  be  requested  by  the  people,  and  he  did  not  have 
to  wait  long  for  this.  From  all  the  large  cities  in  Bavaria,  many  addresses 
to  the  king  were  circulated,  covered  with  numerous  signatures  and  demand- 
ing an  entrance  into  the  North  German  League.  The  Bavarian  Government 
now  turned  to  the  Bundesprasidium,  and  Bismarck  sent  the  Minister  Del- 
brlick  to  Miineheu  for  further  negotiations,  and  here  also  came  the  Wlirtem- 
burg  Minister,  von  Millwacht.  It  was  soon  evident  that  these  two  South 
German  kingdoms  demanded  no  small  number  of  special  rights,  but  yet  their 
attitude  was  encouraging  to  the  vigorous  federation  of  states.  Baden  and 
Flesse  entered  the  North  German  League  without  reservation,  negotiations 
with  them  being  completed  at  Versailles,  on  November  15,  with  Bavaria  on 
the  23d,  and  Wtirtemburg  on  the  25th.  The  independent  management  of 
their  railroads,  posts,  and  telegraphs  was  conceded  to  the  two  latter  states, 
while  Bavaria  was  granted  supreme  military  command  over  her  troops 
in  times  of  peace  under  the  condition  that  her  interior  arrangements 
should  agree  in  its  main  points  with  those  of  Prussia.  After  this  treaty  had 
been  signed  late  in  the  evening  at  Versailles,  Bismarck  said  to  one  of  his 
companions  in  his  house  : ‘‘The  newspapers  will  not  be  pleased,  and  the 
ordinary  historian  can  blame  our  agreement.  He  can  say  that  the  stupid 
fellow  should  have  demanded  more,  that  he  should  have  compelled  them  to 
accede  to  his  demands.  He  would  be  right  with  his  ‘ should.’  But  I consider 
it  more  important  that  the  people  shall  be  heartily  pleased  with  the  action. 
What  do  treaties  under  compulsion  amount  to  ? Now  I know  that  they  (the 
Bavarian  authorities)  have  gone  away  satisfied.  I will  not  press  the  point 
too  far.  The  treaty  has  its  defects,  but  they  made  it  stronger.  I consider 
it  the  most  important  that  we  have  made  this  year.” 

But  the  work  of  German  unity  was  not  yet  finished.  Austria  could 
raise  objections  on  the  grounds  of  the  peace  of  Prague,  which  provided  for 
the  South  German  states.  Foreign  countries,  also,  could  offer  impediments, 
and  not  the  least  to  be  feared  was  the  political  incapacity  of  many  members 


THE  FRANCO-PRUSSIAN  WAR 


293 


of  the  North  Geniian  Reichstag,  who  wished  greater  unity  than  was 
necessary.  Bismarck  worked  with  anxious  care  to  prevent  all  tliese  dis- 
turbances from  affecting  the  completion  of  the  union.  He  found  a powerful 
support  ill  this  work  in  tlie  noble  princes  whose  memoiy  Germany  will 
always  gratefnll}^  cherish — the  Grand  Duke  Frederick  of  Baden,  Ernest, 
Duke  of  Saxe  Cobnrg-Gotha,  and  the  Crown  Prince  Frederick  William. 
The  latter,  especiall}^,  a generous  prince,  anxious  for  peace,  devoted  himself 
to  the  completion  of  this  work.  And  the  efforts  of  these  men  were  crowned 
with  the  desired  results.  * In  December  the  treaty  was  accepted  by  the  North 
German  Reichstag  and  by  the  representatives  of  the  South  German  states. 
Austria  not  only  refrained  from  opposition,  but  expressed  the  wish  to  be 
united  in  eternal  friendship  with  the  new  German  Empire.  This  was  due 
largely  to  the  wise  moderation  that  Bismarck  had  shown  in  1866,  which 
thus  silenced  the  enemies  of  the  iiewE^-erected  empire.  Had  the  work  been 
hampered  at  this  time,  the  dearest  wish  of  the  Germans  would  have  been 
once  more  disappointed.  But  now  the  work  was  finished.  The  3mnng  King 
of  Bavaria,  Louis  H,  in  a letter  to  King  William  of  Prussia,  requested  him 
now  to  assume  the  title  of  German  Emperor.  Soon  afterwards  there 
appeared  at  Versailles  a delegation  from  the  Reichstag  to  the  North  German 
Confederation,  thirty  delegates,  at  their  head  President  Simson,  the  same 
man  who  in  1849  went  to  Berlin  at  the  head  of  the  delegation  from  the 
German  Parliament  of  Frankfort,  to  offer  the  emperor’s  crown  to  King 
Frederick  William  IV.  How  the  times  have  changed!  At  that  time  only 
a fraction  of  a weak  assembly  of  Germans  had  desired  the  formation  of  the 
empire,  while  now  the  demand  was  enthnsiasticall}^  made  by  the  princes  and 
people  of  Germany.  King  William  replied  to  the  representatives  of  the 
North  German  Reichstag:  “The  request  of  his  majest}q  the  King  of 
Bavaria,  that  I assume  the  sovereignty  of  the  German  Empire,  has  filled 
me  with  deep  emotion.  Yon,  my  lords,  now  request  me  in  the  name  of  the 
North  German  Reichstag  not  to  evade  this  call.  But  I could  not  recognize 
the  call  as  providential  unless  it  was  by  the  nnanimons  voice  of  the  Ger- 
man princes  and  free  states,  thus  signifying  that  it  was  the  universal  desire 
of  the  German  nation.  In  that  case  I would  dare  to  accept,  trusting  in 
God’s  help.  Therefore  it  will  give  3^11  as  well  as  me  satisfaction  to  know 
that  I have  been  informed  by  his  majesty,  the  King  of  Bavaria,  that  the 
agreement  of  all  German  princes  and  free  states  is  secured,  and  the  official 
announcement  of  the  same  is  imminent.” 

Now  came  the  great  day  of  January  18,  1871.  On  the  same  day,  one 
hundred  and  seventy  3^ears  before.  King  William’s  ancestors  had  exchanged 


294 


THE  ERANCO-PRUSSIAN  WAR 


the  electoral  hat  of  Brandenburg  for  the  Royal  crown  in  the  church  of  the 
Deutsch  Orden-Schloss  at  Konigsberg.  To-day  a much  greater  scene  was 
enacted  in  the  mirror-room  of  the  palace  at  Versailles.  Louis  XIV,  in  his 
pride  had  caused  to  be  carved  on  the  ceiling  of  this  room  the  words  : Le  roi 
gouverne  par  lui-meme,”  that  is,  ‘‘  The  king  is  sovereign  through  his  own 
absolute  power.”  But  a greater  sovereign  than  the  pompous  Frenchman 
now  entered  this  hall,  humbly  bowing  his  victorious  head  before  God.  On 
one  side  of  the  long  hall  an  altar  had  been  erected,  on  both  sides  of  which 
stood  bodies  of  picked  men  from  all  the  German  troops.  The  banners  that 
had  fluttered  in  so  many  noble  victories  were  borne  unfurled  by  corporals. 
Six  hundred  officers  from  all  the  regiments  were  drawn  up  in  line.  King 
William,  surrounded  by  princes  and  generals,  walked  to  the  altar,  accom- 
panied by  the  Crown  Prince,  Bismarck  and  Moltke.  A solemn  religious 
service  now  began.  The  court  chaplain  declared  that  France  had  fallen 
through  the  arrogance  of  her  sovereign  and  her  people,  and  that  God  had 
plainl}^  been  on  the  side  of  the  Germans,  as  they  fought  for  their  lofty  and 
greatly  desired  object.  After  the  service  was  ended.  King  William  pro- 
claimed the  restoration  of  the  German  Empire.  He  then  requested  the 
chancellor  to  read  the  first  edict  of  the  emperor  to  the  German  people. 

The  emperor  was  crowned  with  new  wreaths  of  victory.  On  September 
28,  Strasburg  was  retaken  and  on  October  27  Metz,  which  had  never  before 
been  conquered,  surrendered  to  Prince  Frederick  Charles,  while  the  entire 
French  arm}^  the  proud  emperor’s  guard  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-three 
thousand  men  with  six  thousand  officers,  five  hundred  generals  and  three 
marshals  of  France  were  taken  in  captivity  to  Germany.  Victories  had 
been  won  also  at  Orleans  and  Amiens.  Sixteen  French  fortresses  had  sur- 
rendered, and  on  January  18,  the  emperor’s  birthday.  General  von  Werder 
had,  with  a few  troops  and  after  a three  days’  struggle,  defeated  Bourbaki  in 
spite  of  the  enemy’s  overwhelming  superiority.  But  the  strong  garrison  at 
Paris  repulsed  all  attacks,  and  the  great  attack  of  January  19,  against  Ver- 
sailles, undertaken  by  the  best  ready  forces,  was  not  successful.  But  the 
situation  in  Paris  was  growing  desperate.  All  provisions  were  consumed,  and 
the  people  were  reduced  to  eating  the  animals  in  the  zoological  gardens  and 
the  rats  in  the  sewers.  Infectious  diseases  broke  out  among  the  wounded  and 
the  citizens,  and  an  attempted  insurrection  was  put  down  by  the  Government 
with  the  greatest  difficiilt^u  Affliction  at  last  humbled  the  arrogance  of  the 
French.  On  January  23,  1871,  Jules  Favre  went  to  the  German  head- 
quarters at  Versailles,  accompanied  by  a French  officer,  Count  d’Herisson. 
Bismarck  was  ready  to  begin  negotiations.  D’Herisson  thus  relates  the  con- 


THE  STORMIXG  OF  SPirilERP^NBFIlG,  AUGUST  6,  1870. 

The  lieights  of  Spicherenberg,  near  Saarhrucken,  were  stormed,  on  the  Gth  of  August,  1870,  by  divisions  of  tiie  First  and  Second 
German  armies,  and  tlie  corps  of  General  Frossard  were  repulsed  with  heavy  losses. 


THE  FRANCO  HR  USS/AN  WAR 


295 


versation  : “ The  Chancellor  presented  his  demands  with  astonishing  candor 
and  cogent  reasoning,  without  aii}^  embellishments  of  speech.  He  directly 
announced  his  object,  often  interrupting  Favre,  who  clung  to  his  old  tricks  of 
the  advocate  and  could  not  comprehend  the  Chancellor’s  sincerit3^  Bismarck 
spoke  French  fluently,  expressing  himself  not  only  skilfully  but  forcibly. 
He  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  the  right  word  to  express  his  thoughts.  The 
negotiations  were  continued  the  next  day,  Bismarck  eveiy where  obtaining 
the  advantage  through  his  firmness.  Jules  Favre  vehementl}^  opposed 
the  entry  of  the  German  troops  into  Paris,  but  the  Chancellor  insisted. 
“ This,”  he  said,  “ is  the  reward  of  our  arm3\  If  I should  not  grant  them 
this,  after  my  return  home  any  poor  devil  with  a wooden  leg  that  I might 
meet  could  say  to  me,  ‘ the  leg  which  I lost  before  the  walls  of  Paris  gave 
me  the  right  to  complete  my  conquest.  This  diplomat  with  both  legs  pre- 
vented me  from  doing  so.’  We  cannot  afford  to  violate  public  sentiment  on 
this  point.  We  will  enter  Paris,  but  will  not  go  beyond  the  Champs 
Elysee.” 

The  negotiations  were  concluded  on  the  evening  of  January  26.  It  was 
agreed  that  at  midnight,  after  Jules  Favre  had  returned  to  Paris,  the  firing 
should  cease  on  both  sides.  The  vain  Frenchman  requested  that  the  last 
shot  might  be  fired  by  the  French.  A truce  of  twenty-one  days  was  con- 
cluded at  Versailles  on  January  28,  on  the  basis  of  these  negotiations.  The 
entire  garrison  at  Paris  remained  in  the  capital  as  prisoners  of  war  deliver- 
ing up  their  weapons  to  the  victors,  and  all  the  Parisian  outworks  were  sur- 
rendered to  the  Germans.  The  victory  was  complete  at  every  point.  The 
French  government  now  issued  orders  for  elections  to  a national  assembly 
which  met  in  Bordeaux.  Thiers,  Favre,  and  fifteen  delegates  were  given 
full  authority  to  negotiate  concerning  the  peace  at  Versailles.  The  truce 
being  lengthened,  they  met  at  Versailles.  On  February  21  Bismarck  im- 
posed the  following  conditions  : The  surrender  of  Alsace-Lorraine  with  Metz 
and  Belfont,  and  the  payment  of  six  milliard  francs  war  expenses.  The 
[only  concession  which  he  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  grant  was  the  reduction 
of  this  sum  to  five  milliard  francs.  Thiers  strained  every  nerve  and  sum- 
moned all  his  eloquence  to  save  Alsace-Lorraine,  and  when  his  words  had 
no  effect  upon  the  inflexible  Chancellor,  he  started  up  in  a violent  passion 
and  cried,  “Ah,  it  is  a veritable  spoliation,  it  is  an  outrage  I”  These  bold 
words  provoked  Bismarck’s  indignation. 

He  had  hitherto  treated  the  French  ambassadors  courteously,  using  the 
French  language,  but  now  his  manner  became  cold  and  he  spoke  in  German. 
The  French  were  frightened  and  begged  that  he  would  again  use  their 


296 


THE  FRANCO-PRUSSIAN  WAR 


language,  but  Bismarck  replied  tliat  as  tlie}^  did  not  seem  to  understand  bis 
French,  he  would  be  obliged  to  use  German.  Then  they  adopted  another 
tone.  Thiers  seized  a pen,  and  writing  on  a sheet  of  paper  concessions 
which  came  ver}^  near  to  Bismarck’s  demands,  handed  the  paper  to  tlie 
Count.  When  the  Chancellor  had  read  it  through  he  smiled  and  said,  “ On 
these  conditions,  I am  again  ready  to  carry  on  the  negotiations  in  French.” 
The  strongest  efforts  were  made  to  retain  Belfort  for  France,  and  Emperor 
William  finally  consented  to  renounce  this  city,  as  it  was  a pnrel}"  French 
town  and  had  never  belonged  to  German}^,  and  as  Strasbnrg  gave  sufiicient 
protection  to  southern  German}^  Then  the  question  came  up  as  to  the 
extreme  frontier.  The  French  had  urgently  requested  England  to  aid  them 
in  attaining  better  terms,  and  the  Ambassador,  Lord  Russell,  was  com- 
missioned by  his  government  to  try  to  influence  Bismarck.  But  the  Chan- 
cellor refused  to  receive  the  x-fimbassador  during  the  negotiations,  and  thus 
the  conditions  of  peace  were  arranged  without  foreign  intervention.  The 
treaty  was  signed  on  February  28,  1871.  Bismarck  used  a gold  pen  which 
the  manufacturer,  Bessinger,  sent  him,  with  the  request  to  use  it  in  signing 
the  third  Paris  treaty.”  In  his  letter  of  thanks  the  Chancellor  said  : “ I 
promise  that  b}^  the  help  of  God  this  pen  in  1113^  hand  shall  sign  nothing 
unworthy  of  German  sentiment  and  the  German  sword.”  Bismarck’s  whole 
life  is  a proof  of  the  sincerity  of  these  words.  The  Versailles  treat}^  was 
ratified  by  the  National  Assembl}^  at  Bordeaux  on  March  i. 

The  troops  selected  for  the  entrance  into  Paris  met  at  the  race- 
course of  Longchamps,  north  of  Mount  Valerien,  on  the  morning  of 
March  i.  There  Emperor  William  reviewed  his  brave  arm}^  thirty  thousand 
in  number.  An  English  ofiicer  who  was  present  speaking  of  the  emperor’s 
reception  by  the  troops,  said  : “ The  enthusiasm  was  indescribable.  It  was 
not  the  ‘ vive  rempereur  ’ of  the  French  troops  with  their  waving  of  swords, 
and  unstead}^  march-step.  The  ‘ Hurrah  !’  of  the  Germans  had  a powerful 
ring,  and  rolled  out  like  thunder,  but  not  a single  bayonet  in  the  ranks 
trembled.  The  picture  was  grand  and  dignified.”  Count  Bismarck  accom- 
panied the  emperor  to  Longchamps.  The  gaze  of  the  Parisians  who  had 
come  to  look  on  was  directed  toward  his  powerful  form  more  than  to 
any  other.  Ever3uvhere  was  heard  the  cr}^  “ voila  Bismarck  1”  In  the 
countless  multitude  the  Chancellor  noticed  a man  who  followed  him  with 
malignant  gaze,  as  if  he  had  evil  designs.  Bismarck  rode  np  to  him  and 
asked  him  for  a light  for  his  cigar.  The  man’s  deportment  changed,  and 
he  quickl}^  granted  the  qnieth^  spoken  request. 

The  troops  entered  Paris  by"  three  different  streets,  uniting  before 


THE  FRANCO-PRUSSIAN  WAR 


297 


the  Arc  de  Triomphe,  the  triumphal  arch  whose  boastful  carvings  blazon 
the  victories  of  the  revolution  and  the  empire.  The  French  had  placed  a 
carriage  in  front  of  the  arch  to  obstruct  the  entrance,  but  the  Germans  put 
it  aside,  and  with  waving  colors,  martial  music,  and  huzzas,  the  emperor’s 
troops  marched  under  the  arch  and  down  to  the  Tuileries.  A great  multi- 
tude awaited  the  approaching  regiments  in  the  Champs  Elysee.  The  Ger- 
mans halted  at  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  and  separated,  to  go  to  their  several 
headquarters.  They  remained  in  Paris  until  March  3. 

At  the  moment  when  peace  was  concluded  Germany  had  more  than 
six  hundred  thousand  armed  soldiers  in  France,  while  at  home  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  stood  ready  to  follow  the  commands  of  the 
emperor,  thus  removing  all  fear  of  foreign  interference.  The  outworks 
south  and  east  of  Paris  were  returned  to  the  French,  but  those  on  the  north 
and  east,  as  well  as  the  northeastern  district  of  France,  remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  Germans  as  pledges  for  the  payment  of  the  war  indemnity. 
Formal  peace  was  concluded  at  Frank fort-on-th e-Main,  May  10,  1871.  By 
its  conditions,  Alsace  and  German  Lorraine,  with  the  battlefields  of  Metz, 
were  conceded  to  Germany,  and  France  was  obliged  to  pay  within  four  years 
a war  tax  of  five  milliard  francs,  or  a billion  dollars,  but  tremendous  as  was 
the  burden  imposed  upon  her,  she  paid  the  last  franc  a considerable  time 
before  it  was  due,  and  thus  secured  the  removal  of  the  German  invaders. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 


(EIGHTH  DECADE) 
ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA 


\Rhiinie. — When  in  February,  1868,  the  English  Parliament  met,  it  was  announced  that  Lord  Derby, 
owing  to  failing  health,  had  resigned,  and  that  Mr.  Disraeli  was  to  be  Premier.  Then  Mr.  Gladstone 
came  into  power  and  he  held  the  condition  of  the  Irish  Church  to  be  unsatisfactory.] 

For  many  years  , the  subject  of  the  Irish  Church  had  been  before  the 
British  public.  A Royal  Commission  had  been  appointed  to  deal 
with  the  question,  and  it  had  given  rise  to  more  than  one  debate  in 
the  House  of  Commons.  Mr.  Gladstone’s  own  adoption  of  the  policy  of 
Disestablishment  had  been  made  evident  in  a speech  delivered  July,  1867, 
although  he  abstained  from  voting.  His  relation  to  the  question  had,  how- 
ever, as  he  indicated,  been  practically  declared  for  more  than  twenty  years. 
A year  later,  on  a motion  by  Mr.  Maguire,  “ that  this  House  resolves  itself 
into  a Committee  with  the  view  of  taking  into  consideration  the  condition 
and  circumstances  of  Ireland,”  Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  more  decidedly,  de- 
claring that,  in  order  to  the  settlement  of  the  condition  of  the  Irish,  the 
Church  as  a State  Church  must  cease  to  exist,  and  in  consequence  of  this 
declaration  Mr.  Maguire  withdrew  his  motion.  On  the  first  division  on 
Mr.  Gladstone’s  resolution  he  obtained  a majority  of  sixty  against  the  gov- 
ernment. Subsequent  divisions  having  confirmed  and  increased  this  majority, 
Mr.  Disraeli  announced  on  May  4,  that  he  had  advised  Her  Majesty  to  dis- 
solve Parliament  in  the  coming  autumn,  in  order  that  the  opinion  of  the 
country  might  be  taken  on  the  great  issue  put  before  it.  Great  was  the 
excitement  everywhere,  and  many  public  meetings  were  held  on  the  subject 
in  all  parts  of  England.  At  a meeting  of  Church  supporters  held  in  St. 
James’s  Hall  in  May,  Archbishop  Longley  in  the  chair,  there  were  twenty- 
five  bishops  on  the  platform,  besides  an  array  of  peers  and  M.  P.’s.  Arch- 
bishop Tait,  who  moved  the  first  resolution,  referring  to  a speech  of  his  own 
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299 


on  the  Church  Rate  Bill,  writes  to  his  son  : “ Gladstone  fell  foul  of  it  some- 
what roughly  on  moving  his  Irish  Church  resolutions,  but  last  Sunday  your 
mother  and  I went  to  the  little  church  in  Windmill  Street,  which  Mr.  Kempe 
has  built  for  the  poor  of  St.  James’s,  and  there  found  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Glad- 
stone taking  refuge  from  the  glare  of  London  for  a quiet  Sunday  morning ; 
and  as  we  all  walked  home  together,  I had  some  most  agreeable  conversa- 
tion with  him.  I wish  he  were  not  so  strangely  impetuous,  for  he  is 
certainly  a good  Christian.  ...  I almost  hope  that  something  may  be 
done  to  bring  him  to  reason  about  reforming,  not  destroying,  the  Irish 
Church.  This,  no  doubt,  is  what  the  Old  Whigs  really  desire,  if  only  they 
could  get  Disraeli  out.”  Mr.  Disraeli  soon  gratified — at  any  rate,  to  a 
certain  extent — the  Old  Whigs.  In  November  the  constituencies  replied  to 
the  appeal  made  to  them  by  Mr.  Disraeli  by  an  almost  unprecedented 
majority  for  his  opponent.  Mr.  Disraeli  himself  recognized  the  fact  by  re- 
signing office  without  waiting  for  the  meeting  of  Parliament.  When  Par- 
liament met  in  February,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  Premier.  Defeated  in  Lan- 
cashire, he  had  been  elected  for  Greenwich.  There  were,  of  course,  party 
cavilings  when  the  member  for  Greenwich  was  gazetted  in  August,  1873, 
as  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  without  vacating  his  seat  for  the  Metro- 
politan borough  ; but  the  polemics  in  the  press  gradually  ceased  upon  the 
subject. 

This  is  the  place,  it  seems  to  us,  to  speak  of  Disraeli.  We  will  attempt 
to  tell  the  stor}^  of  his  life  as  briefly  as  possible.  He  was  admitted  a 
student  at  Lincoln’s  Inn,  1824,  ^.nd  kept  nine  terms,  but  had  his  name  re- 
moved from  the  books  1831.  Abandoning  the  study  of  law,  he  developed 
an  ambition  to  shine  in  political  and  fashionable  life.  In  1826  he  published 
his  novel,  “ Vivian  Grey,”  succeeded  at  intervals  by  other  brilliant  works  of 
fiction,  including  “ The  Young  Duke,”  “ Contarini  Fleming,”  “ The  Won- 
drous Tale  of  Alroy,”  and  “ Henrietta  Temple.”  He  also  wrote  “ The  Rise 
of  Iskander,”  “ A Vindication  of  the  British  Constitution,”  and  “ The  Revo- 
lutionary Epic.”  After  visiting  Italy,  Greece,  Turkey,  and  Syria,  he  re- 
turned to  England  to  find  the  country  involved  in  the  reform  bill  agitation. 
His  sympathies  appear  to  have  then  inclined  to  radicalism  in  politics,  and 
having  recommendations  from  Mr.  Hume  and  Mr.  O’Connell,  he  presented 
himself  in  1832  to  the  electors  of  Wycombe,  but  was  defeated.  At  the  gen- 
eral election  in  1835,  he  had  no  better  success. 

In  April  of  the  same  year  he  contested  Taunton  on  Conservative  prin- 
ciples, again  without  success.  In  1837  his  desire  for  a political  career 
being  unabated,  he  contested  Maidstone  in  the  conservative  interest  with 


300 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA 


Wyndliam  Lewis.  He  was  elected,  and  at  the  age  of  thirty-two  took  his 
seat  in  the  House  of  Commons.  His  maiden  speech,  which  was  in  a high- 
flown  style,  and  delivered  with  extravagant  gestures,  excited  the  laughter 
of  the  House  of  Commons.  He  was  so  much  disconcerted  that  he  stopped 
abruptly,  but  not  without  uttering  the  remarkable  prophecy  : “ I will  sit 
down  now,  but  the  time  shall  come  when  you  will  hear  me.”  In  1838  Mr. 
W.  Lewis  died,  and  in  the  following  year  Disraeli  married  the  widow  of  his 
late  colleague.  He  then  carefully  studied  the  .style  of  successful  parlia- 
mentary orators,  making  few  speeches.  It  was  not  until  1840  that  he  began 
to  attract  notice,  and  not  long  afterwards  he  gained  the  ear  of  the  House  as 
the  leader  of  the  Young  English  Party.  After  entering  Parliament  he 
wrote  several  novels — “ Coningsby  ” (1844),  “Sybil”  (1845),  “ Tancred  ” 
(1847),  which  the  principles  of  young  England  are  most  ingeniously 
blended  with  theories  about  the  intellectual  supremacy  of  the  Jews,  inac- 
curate scientific  notions,  and  misconceptions  of  English  social  life.  At  the 
general  election,  1841,  he  obtained  a seat  for  Shrewsbury.  He  then  became 
the  organ  of  the  dissatisfaction  with  which  the  landed  aristocracy  and 
country  gentry  regarded  Sir  Robert  Peel’s  relaxations  of  the  system  of  pro- 
tection to  native  industry.  His  brilliant  invective  and  polished  sarcasm 
inspired  the  protectionist  party  with  fallacious  hope  and  confidence. 

On  the  death  of  Lord  George  Bentinick,  1848,  Disraeli  succeeded  to  the 
leadership  of  the  Protectionist  party  in  the  Commons.  He  bore  generous 
testimony  to  the  political  consistency  and  primal  worth  of  his  predecessor 
in  his  “ Lord  George  Bentinck,  a Biography.”  In  1852  the  Earl  of  Derby, 
having  undertaken  the  construction  of  a cabinet,  offered  him  the  post  of 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  It  was  the  first  time  a brilliant  novelist  had 
ever  figured  as  the  finance  minister  of  a great  commercial  state,  and  it  shows 
the  versatility  of  his  genius  that  he  emerged  with  honor  and  credit  from  the 
ordeal.  His  second  budget,  1853,  failed,  however,  to  find  acceptance  with 
the  House  of  Commons,  and  the  government  being  outvoted  upon  it,  the 
Derby  cabinet  ceased  to  exist.  Disraeli  resumed  the  leadership  of  the  oppo- 
sition, from  which  he  was  again  summoned  in  1858,  to  the  post  of  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer  in  the  second  administration  of  Lord  Derby.  In  1859  he 
introduced  a measure  of  parliamentary  reform,  which,  being  thrown  out, 
was  followed  by  the  resignation  of  the  government.  For  seven  years  the 
Liberals  remained  in  power,  and  Disraeli,  in  opposition,  displayed  talents  as 
a debater  and  a spirit  and  persistency  under  defeat  which  won  the  admira- 
tion of  his  opponents.  When  Lord  Derby  returned  to  power  in  Ju^q  1866, 
Disraeli  again  returned  to  the  post  of  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  It  was 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA 


301 


he  chiefly  who  induced  the  Conservative  Party  to  pass  the  reform  bill  of 
1867,  his  argument  being  that  the  working-class  house-holders  are  more 
conservative  than  those  of  whom  the  franchise  had  been  previously  extended. 
In  February,  1868,  he  succeeded  Lord  Derby  as  premier,  but,  in  the  face  of 
a hostile  majority,  he  resigned  in  December  following. 

On  this  occasion  Mrs.  Disraeli,  in  acknowledgment  of  her  husband’s 
services,  was  raised  to  the  peerage  as  Viscount  Beaconsfield  (died  in  1872), 
Disraeli  then  declining  the  honor  in  his  own  case.  In  1872  he  published 
another  novel,  “ Lothair,”  marked  by  most  of  the  merits  and  defects  of 
those  which  preceded  it.  In  1873  the  popularity  of  Mr.  Gladstone  sub- 
sided, and  the  election  of  1874,  giving  the  conservatives  a large  majority, 
Disraeli  returned  to  power  as  Prime  Minister.  In  1877  he  took  his  seat  in 
the  upper  house  as  Earl  of  Beaconsfield.  Still  premier,  the  earl  was  the 
guiding  spirit  of  his  cabinet  during  the  critical  years  1877-78,  seeking  by 
energetic  action  in  eastern  affairs  to  give  an  “ imperial  ” character  to  Eng- 
lish policy ; and  he  returned  from  the  congress  of  Berlin  bringing,  as  he 
said,  peace  with  honor.”  He  was  shortly  afterward  decorated  with  the 
Garter.  After  a keen  contest,  in  which  the  Liberal  leaders,  headed  by 
Gladstone,  vigorously  denounced  government  measures,  especially  in  regard 
to  the  affairs  of  Eastern  Europe,  Afghanistan,  and  South  Africa,  the  gen- 
eral election  returned  a large  Liberal  majority,  and  the  government  resigned 
ere  parliament  assembled.  The  ex-premier,  who  held  several  honorary  de- 
grees as  D.  C.  L.  and  LL.  D.,  employed  his  leisure  in  publishing  his  last 
novel,  “ Endymion,”  the  hero  of  which  is  a successful  English  politician. 
The  Earl  of  Beaconsfield  took  his  share  in  public  affairs  as  a member  of 
the  upper  house  till  his  final  illness  in  the  spring  of  1881.  The  terms  of 
his  will  alone  precluded  the  honor  of  a public  funeral  and  burial  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  proposed  by  the  government. 

It  was  hoped,  after  the  Crimean  war,  that  the  influence  of  the  allies,  to 
whom  it  owed  so  much,  would  lead  the  Turkish  government  into  the  path 
of  reform,  and  make  its  continued  existence  tolerable  by  its  neighbors. 
England  demanded  complete  religious  equality  of  Mohammedans  and 
Christians,  and  the  Turks,  with  grave  courtesy,  yielded  immediate  com- 
pliance. It  was  discovered  afterwards  that  they  did  not  construe  the  agree- 
ment as  England  did.  But  this  difference  need  not  concern  us,  as  no 
attempt  whatever  was  made  to  give  effect  to  either  construction.  V arious 
important  reforms  were  promised,  and  large  reduction  in  the  profligate 
expenditure  of  the  administration.  No  single  promise  then  made  was 
ever  fulfilled.  English  alliance  with  the  Turks  in  the  dangers  and 


302 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA 


sacrifices  of  a great  war  was  naturally  the  origin  of  a friendly  regard,  and 
an  unreasoning  expectation  that  a better  future  was  in  store  for  them. 
These  favorable  impressions  created  an  opportunity  of  which  the  Turks 
were  not  slow  to  avail  themselves.  Their  government  attempted  to  borrow 
money  of  the  English  government.  Unexpected  success  induced  frequent 
renewal  of  such  applications.  The  honest  earnings  of  credulous  English- 
men were  squandered  on  the  filthy  pleasures  of  Turkish  savages.  The 
tempting  interest  promised  to  the  earlier  dupes  was  paid  from  sums  yielded 
by  the  later.  Not  until  a debt  of  one  hundred  and  forty  millions  had  been 
incurred  did  the  simple  Christians  discover  that  they  were  being  plundered 
by  the  cunning  misbelievers.  So  soon  as  it  ceased  to  be  possible  for  them 
to  borrow,  the  Turks  began  to  apply  to  the  enormous  debt  which  they  had 
contracted  the  easy  and  comfortable  process  of  repudiation. 

While  the  English  people  were  realizing  the  hopeless  loss  inflicted  upon 
them,  the  Turkish  difficulty  once  more  became  acute.  The  Christians  in 
Bosnia,  and  the  Herzegovina  were  driven,  in  1875,  to  take  up  arms  against 
their  oppressors,  and  the  Turks  were  unable  to  suppress  the  insurrection. 
The  great  Powers,  anxious  always  to  postpone  the  inevitable  settlement,  re- 
quired that  the  Turks  should  pledge  themselves  to  such  reforms  as  might  be 
expected  to  satisfy  the  insurgents.  Religious  equality  was  again  demanded, 
and  again  promised.  Taxes  levied  in  the  revolted  provinces  were  to  be 
expended  there.  A commission,  composed  of  Mohammedans  and  Christians, 
were  charged  with  the  execution  of  these  reforms — the  announcement  of 
which,  it  was  vainly  hoped,  would  disarm  the  revolted  provinces,  and  restore 
tranquillit3^  The  desired  postponement  was  not  gained.  The  overtures  of 
the  embarrassed  and  faithless  Porte  were  unheeded  b}^  the  insurgents.  And 
soon  the  disturbance  was  intensified  by  a declaration  of  war  by  Servia, 
which  professed  to  be  moved  by  a sympathy  with  the  revolted  provinces  to 
a course  which  threatened  to  procure  her  own  ruin.  During  the  spring  a 
rising  of  trivial  importance  occurred  in  Bulgaria.  The  Turks  were  urged 
by  the  English  Government  to  be  prompt  in  restoring  order  throughout  the 
disturbed  territories.  Bulgaria  was  chosen  for  the  premeditated  exhibition 
of  Turkish  vigor  and  justice.  A force  sufficient  to  overcome  all  resistance 
occupied  the  unhappy  state,  which  was  now  the  victim  of  atrocities  scarcely 
paralleled  in  modern  Europe.  Christian  villages  were  plundered  and 
burned,  their  inhabitants  slaughtered  by  thousands,  and  women,  little  chil- 
dren, and  unoffending  old  men  perished  under  nameless  torture.  The  dead 
lay  in  heaps  in  the  churches,  to  which  they  had  vainly  fled  for  shelter,  and 
the  dogs  tore  their  unburied  flesh  as  they  rotted  by  the  wayside. 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA 


303 


Through  the  efforts  of  an  English  newspaper,  details  of  these  infamies 
reached  London  and  were  revealed  to  the  world.  Unworthy  attempts  were 
made  by  the  friends  of  the  Turks — for  even  in  England  they  had  friends — 
to  deny  and  then  to  soften  the  appalling  facts.  But  these  were  frustrated 
without  difficult}".  The  British  people  read  in  the  Bulgarian  atrocities  the 
true  character  of  the  savage  Power  which,  they  had  so  long  upheld.  Their 
indignant  horror  made  a sudden  breack  in  the  “ hereditary  policy  ” of  the 
Government,  and  for  the  time  saved  the  nation  from  the  shame  of  saving 
the  Turks  from  the  vengeance  which  their  iniquities  had  provoked.  The 
Emperor  of  Russia  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  created  by  the  revul- 
sion of  English  sentiment.  He  proposed  that  Turkish  misrule  should  be 
forcibly  terminated,  and  intimated  that  if  Europe  failed  to  join  him  in  this 
urgent  work  he  was  prepared  to  act  independently.  A vain  attempt  was 
made  by  a conference  of  the  great  Powers  to  bring  the  disturber  of  the 
public  peace  to  reason.  The  stubborn  Porte  would  not  yield  to  the  counsel 
and  entreaty  of  Europe,  The  great  Powers  desisted  from  their  efforts,  and 
ceased  to  interpose  between  Turkey  and  the  measureless  calamities  which 
impended.  In  due  time  Russia  declared  war,  and  moved  her  armies  to  the 
frontier.  Two  great  natural  lines  of  defense — the  Danube  and  the  Balkan 
Mountains — lie  between  Turkey  and  her  assailant.  Efficiently  held,  these 
would  have  long  delayed  the  Russian  advance,  and  could  not  have  been 
forced  without  a large  expenditure  of  life.  But  the  supreme  commander  of 
the  Turks  allowed  the  river  to  be  crossed  without  firing  a shot.  The  passes 
of  the  Balkans  were  so  weakly  held  that  Shipka  was  seized  almost  without 
fighting,  and  Russian  troops  in  force  occupied  the  northern  parts  of  Roumelia. 

Then  it  was  that  the  Turks  roused  themselves  from  this  fatal  lethargy. 
The  weak  old  man  who  had  led  their  armies  to  so  little  pnrpose  was  dis- 
placed, and  successors  were  appointed,  with  orders  to  give  immediate  battle. 
The  Russians,  scorning  an  enemy  who  seemed  incapable  of  effective  resist- 
ance, had  ventured  too  far,  and  lay  exposed  to  the  blows  that  an  enterprising 
commander  might  strike.  General  Gourko  was  driven  back  into  the  Balkans 
by  a rapid  concentration  of  Turkish  forces,  and  for  a time  it  looked  as  if  he 
would  be  compelled  to  surrender.  Osman  Pasha  led  an  army  to  Plevna,  a 
Roumelian  town  lying  in  a valley  commanded  by  a series  of  ridges  on  which 
were  hastily  constructed  intrenchments  and  redoubts.  For  five  months  the 
interest  of  the  war  centred  in  this  little  town.  The  Turkish  general  was 
resolute,  full  of  resources,  and  utterly  regardless  of  life.  His  soldiers,  splen- 
didly armed,  were  brave,  obedient,  and  enduring.  The  Russians,  impatient 
with  the  obstacle,  dashed  themselves  against  Osman’s  earthworks,  and  were 


304 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA 


bloodily  repulsed  by  tbe  terrible  musketry  fire  of  bis  soldiers.  Wlien  at 
length  the  unexpected  difficulty  of  the  enterprise  was  understood,  General 
Todleben,  who  held  Sebastopol  against  the  English,  was  placed  in  command. 
Heavy  masses  of  troops  were  drawn  around  Plevna,  and  communication  with 
the  outer  world  was  completely  shut  off.  Hunger  would,  in  time,  quell  the 
defense  of  the  Turks.  Osman  held  out  until  Plevna  became  a charnel- 
house,  filled  with  wounded  and  unburied  dead.  Then  he  made  a desperate 
attempt  to  break  through  the  encircling  lines.  But  his  strength  was  gone. 
Surrounded  and  powerless,  he  laid  down  his  arms,  after  his  long  and  hard 
fighting.  The  flower  of  the  Turkish  army  had  perished  or  been  made 
captive  at  Plevna,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  Mohammedan  power  to  resist 
was  near  exhaustion. 

During  all  these  months  a Russian  force  held  a position  in  the  Shipka 
Pass  in  spite  of  desperate  efforts  made  by  the  Turks  to  dislodge  it.  A few 
weeks  after  the  fall  of  Plevna  three  Russian  armies  were  led  across  the 
Balkans.  The  difficulties  of  the  march  were  extreme.  The  roads  were  slip- 
pery with  ice  and  often  almost  impassable  from  deep  snow.  Many  men  per- 
ished from  the  intense  cold.  But  the  Russians  were  animated  by  a spirit 
before  which  all  obstacles  vanished.  They  forced  their  way  into  Roumelia, 
and  furiously  striking  the  rear  of  the  Turkish  army  guarding  the  outlet  from 
the  Shipka  Pass,  compelled  its  surrender.  Twent}-  thousand  men  laid  down 
their  arms.  When  the  victorious  Russians  hurried  to  Adrianople,  the 
terrified  Turks  begged  for  terms.  Throughout  the  war  they  abated 
nothing  of  the  atrocious  cruelties  in  which  their  race  has  always 
taken  delight.  They  took  no  prisoners  ; all  the  Russians  who  fell  into 
their  hands  were  massacred,  often  with  horrible  torture.  When  the  fortune 
of  war  left  them  in  possession  of  a battle-ground  they  habitually  murdered 
the  wounded.  The  forbearance  shown  by  the  Russians  under  the  provoca^ 
tion  of  these  atrocities  is  worthy  of  all  admiration.  The  Turkish  wounded 
were  cared  for  by  the  Russians  as  tenderly  as  their  own,  and  the  courage, 
endurance,  and  humanity  of  the  victors  were  be3^ond  praise. 

It  was  a work  of  extreme  difficulty  to  frame  the  new  political  adjust- 
ments which  the  overthrow  of  Turkey  rendered  necessary. 

The  Government  of  Lord  Beaconsfield  avowed  its  design  of  upholding 
so  far  as  possible  the  integrity  and  independence  of  Turkey.  Happily  for 
the  subject  populations  of  the  Turk,  the  ruin  was  too  complete  to  permit 
full  success  in  this  questionable  purpose.  The  terms  to  which  Turkey  was 
compelled  to  submit  left  her  still  in  nominal  possession  of  considerable  ter- 
ritory, but  involved  her  final  extinction  as  a European  Power  at  no  distant 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA 


305 


day.  To  the  north  of  the  Balkans,  Bulgaria  was  erected  into  a principality, 
required  to  pa}^  a tribute,  but  wholly  exempt  from  Turkish  control.  To  the 
south  of  the  great  mountain  range  was  the  province  of  Eastern  Roumelia, 
nominally  under  the  political  authorit}^  of  the  Sultan,  but  ruled  b}^  a Christian 
Governor-General,  and  effectively  protected  against  Turkish  interference  with 
her  newly  conferred  privilege  of  self-administration.  The  independence 
which  the  Alontenegrins  had  maintained  by  arms  for  four  hundred  3^ears 
was  now  recognized,  and  some  addition  of  territor}^  given.  Roumania  and 
Servia  received  also  a formal  acknowledgment  of  their  independence. 
Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  were  made  over  to  Austria.  Russia  took  back 
Bessarabia,  of  which  she  had  been  deprived  in  the  time  of  her  adversity 
twent^^-three  years  before,  and  Roumania  was  indemnified  for  her  loss  out 
of  Turkish  territor^n  Russia  also  received  Batoum,  Kars,  and  Ardahan  in 
Asia.  England  accepted  C\^prus  in  requital  of  her  friendly  offices,  and 
guaranteed  the  safet}^  of  certain  Turkish  possessions  in  Asia — securing  for 
herself  certain  rights  to  promote  good  government  in  these  regions. 

When  war  began,  in  April,  1877,  the  Sultan  ruled  a European  popula- 
tion of  eight  and  a half  millions,  or  if  the  tributary  states  are  included, 
over  thirteen  millions.  When  the  war  closed,  in  Ju^q  1878,  the  tributary 
states  Avere  finally  broken  off  from  the  empire.  Bulgaria,  Bosnia,  Herze- 
govina, and  Cyprus  had  passed  from  under  Turkish  dominion.  Roumelia 
took  the  first  step  in  a progress  which  must  ultimately  result  in  her  eman- 
cipation. Of  the  vast  European  populations  upon  whom  there  fell,  four  or 
five  centuries  ago,  the  calamity  of  Turkish  conquest,  all  excepting  four 
millions  have  at  last  obtained  deliverance.  Had  not  England  forbidden, 
these  too  would  have  been  rescued,  and  the  chapter  of  European  history 
which  is  so  dark  with  the  miseries  of  Turkish  rule  would  have  been  finally 
closed. 

The  British  Government  of  India  had  recognized  Shere  Ali  upon  his 
accession,  and  when  in  1868,  after  his  long  struggle  with  his  brothers,  he 
obtained  possession  of  Cabul,  and  became  de  facto  ruler  of  the  greater  part 
of  Afghanistan,  direct  assistance  was  given  him  in  securing  the  position  for 
Avhich  he  had  fought.  Sir  John  Lawrence,  then  Indian  ViceroAq  sent  him 
first  two,  afterward  four  lacs  of  rupees,  with  3,500  stands  of  arms.  The  next 
Viceroy  of  India,  Lord  Mavo,  met  the  Ameer  in  state  at  Umballe,  in  March, 
1869.  was  then  explained  to  him  that  Her  Majes^’s  Government  had  no 
desire  to  interfere  with  the  affairs  of  Afghanistan  except  to  check  civil  Avar, 
and  by  so  doing,  to  secure  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  countr}^  This 
intimation  Avas  accompanied  by  another  \Muable  present.  In  the  same  year 


306 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA 


the  Ameer  decided  to  invade  Bokhara  and  attack  the  Russians,  but  was 
restrained  by  Englisli  remonstrance.  After  1869,  Shere  x\li  endeavored  to 
secure  tranquillity  in  Afghanistan.  He  did  not  forget  the  strife  that  had 
been  occasioned  by  intrusting  power  to  relatives,  and  he  endeavored  to  replace 
the  members  of  his  family  as  much  as  possible  with  strangers.  He  also 
indicated  very  clearly  that  he  did  not  intend  to  select  as  his  heir  his  son 
Yakoob — who,  at  an  early  age,  showed  great  ability  as  Governor  of  Herat,  and 
on  many  occasions  gave  his  father  valuable  assistance — but  a younger  son, 
Abdullah.  The  claims  of  Yakoob  to  the  Government  of  Afghanistan  were 
ignored,  and  the  result  was  a rebellion  in  1870,  headed  by  him,  against  his 
lather.  In  the  following  year,  however,  a reconciliation  was  effected  through 
the  intervention  of  England.  In  1869,  was  agreed  by  England  and 
Russia  that  all  the  provinces  between  the  Oxus  and  the  Hindu  Kush  should 
be  treated  as  part  of  Afghanistan. 

In  1878,  in  consequence  of  Russia’s  new  diplomatic  relations  wdth  Afghan- 
istan,. Shere  Ali  w^as  invited  to  receive  a British  mission.  The  refusal  of 
the  Afghans  to  admit  the  mission,  which  had  advanced  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Khyber  Pass,  led,  after  some  fruitless  negotiations,  to  war.  Hostilities 
began  with  the  forcing  of  entrance  to  the  Khyber  toward  the  end  of  Novem- 
ber. There  was  severe  fighting,  but  the  invaders  Avere  everywhere  success- 
ful. Before  the  end  of  December,  Jelalabad  Avas  occupied  Avithout  resistance, 
and  Candahar  a little  later.  Shere  Ali,  avIio  had  fled,  died  early  in  1879; 
and  Yakoob  Khan,  proclaimed  Ameer,  made  peace  in  May  folloAving.  The 
terms  provided  there  should  be  a British  Resident  at  Cabul ; and  that  Great 
Britain  should  defend  Afghanistan  against  foreign  aggression,  the  Ameer 
receiving  a subsidy.  The  Kuram,  Pishin,  and  Sibi  Valleys  became  British 
territory,  and  the  Khyber  and  Mishni  Passes  came  under  British  control. 
But  in  September  of  the  same  year  the  revolted  troops  of  the  Ameer  sur- 
rounded and  attacked  the  British  Residenc3^  The  Resident,  Sir  Louis 
Cavagnari,  and  his  staff,  Avith  almost  the  Avhole  of  their  Indian  guard,  Avere 
slain  after  a desperate  and  sanguinary  struggle.  Measures  Avere  immedi- 
ately taken  by  the  Indian  Government  to  punish  the  authors  of  the  outrage. 
The  Ameer  placed  himself  under  British  protection,  and  abdicated  his  sov- 
ereignt3^  After  some  fighting  Cabul  Avas  occupied  by  English  troops  in  the 
beginning  of  October.  The  AA^ar  Avas  maintained  in  a desultory  Ava3^ ; and 
it  Avas  not  till  the  middle  of  1880  that  peace  negotiations  Avere  again 
fairly  undertaken. 

Progress  seemed  to  have  been  made  Avhen  Abdurrahman,  son  of  Dost 
Mohammed’s  eldest  son,  and  long  under  Russian  protection,  vA^as  proclaimed 


BEFORE  THE  BATTLE  OF  PLEVNA. 

AFTER  THE  BATTLE  OF  PLEVNA. 

The  horrible  atrocities  committed  by  Turkish  irregular  troops  after  the  revolt  in  Bulgaria  was  such  that  Russia  was 
comi)elled  to  invade  Turkey  in  April,  1877,  when  the  last  Russo-Turkish  War  began.  At  first  the  Rus.sian  troops  were 
miserably  handled  and  suffered  severe  losses  and  defeats.  One  of  the  worst  repulses  was  at  the  Battle  of  Plevna,  which 
was  vainly  assaulted  several  times.  Peace  was  restored  by  the  Congress  of  Berlin,  sitting  in  .Tune  and  .July,  1878. 


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ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA 


307 


Ameer  of  Cabiil.  A few  days  later  England  was  startled  by  the  intelligence 
that  an  English  force  had  met  with  a very  severe  defeat  near  Candahar  at 
the  hands  of  Ayoob  Khan,  Yakoob’s  brother.  The  disaster  was  avenged  on 
September  i,  when  General  Roberts,  the  hero  of  the  South  African  war^ 
marching  from  Cabul,  routed  and  dispersed  A3^oob’s  army  ; and  shortly 
afterward  the  English  troops  began  to  withdraw  from  Afghanistan. 

In  1877,  Sir  Bartle  Frere  became  Governor  of  Cape  Colony  and  High  Com- 
missioner for  South  Africa.  “ No  man  had  a kinder  heart  or  a more  earnest 
desire  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  people  of  the  country,  white  and  black, 
the  Zulus  as  well  as  British  subjects.  But  war  with  Cetewayo  had  become 
a necessity,  and  he  could  not  avoid  it  without  betra^dng  his  trust.  It  w^as 
his  duty  to  protect  the  Queen’s  subjects,  and  unquestionably  maii}^  of  them 
were  in  imminent  peril,  and  would  so  remain  until  the  Zulu  military  system 
was  destroyed.  Unfortunately  the  Commissioner  did  not  know  the  real 
strength  of  the  Zulu  army,  and  none  of  those  upon  whom  he  depended  for 
information  was  able  to  tell  him.”  Cetewayo  gave  him  more  than  one  cause 
for  offense.  A powerful  Zulu  force  paraded  along  the  British  border,  and 
the  chief  spoke  of  it  as  a mere  hunting  party.  English  officials  who  were 
sent  into  Zululand  as  envo^^s  were  contemptuously  used  by  the  Indunas. 
Zulu  subjects  crossed  the  boundary,  seized  two  women  on  Natal  soil  and 
carried  them  away  to  death,  while  Cetewa3"0,  when  called  upon  for  redress, 
treated  the  matter  as  of  trifling  importance.  In  several  serious  disturbances 
by  Bantu  tribes,  in  different  parts  of  South  Africa,  the  agency  of  the  Zulu 
chief  was  clearly  established,  and  in  many  other  respects  he  showed  him- 
self an  enemy  to  the  civilized  Governments  of  the  country.  In  December, 
1878,  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  having  collected  a military  force  in  Natal  which 
every  one  believed  to  be  strong  enough  for  his  purpose,  sent  an  ultimatum 
to  Cetewayo,  in  which  he  demanded  redress  for  the  injuries  sustained,  and 
called  upon  the  chief  to  disband  his  army.  As  no  notice  was  taken  of  the 
message,  on  the  loth  of  January,  1879,  an  English  army  entered  Zululand 
in  three  divisions,  consisting  partly  of  British  soldiers,  partly  of  colonists, 
and  partly  of  blacks. 

Ten  days  after  crossing  the  Buffalo  the  central  column  formed  a camp 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill  Isandlana — that  is.  The  Little  Hand — within  sight 
of  the  Natal  border.  The  country  was  so  rough  that  it  needed  all  that 
time  to  construct  a road  along  which,  provisions  could  be  conveyed.  On  the 
following  morning,  part  of  the  column,  wdth  Lord  Chelmsford,  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, left  the  camp  and  moved  off  to  attack  a kraal  several  miles 
distant.  Some  Dutch  farmers  had  advised  the  English  of&cers  to  take 


308 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA 


precautions  against  surprise,  and  had  told  them  of  the  encounters  with 
Dingaan,  but  their  warnings  were  disregarded.  Nothing  was  done  for 
protection  at  Isandlana,  though  there  were  wagons  enough  to  form  a 
laager.  Not  a trench  was  dug,  nor  a spadeful  of  earth  thrown  up  in  a 
bank.  No  one  even  dreamed  of  danger  until  a little  before  noon  on  the 
22d  of  January,  1879,  when  the  horns  of  a Zulu  army,  about  twenty  thou- 
sand strong,  were  closing  around  the  camp.  The  fight  for  life  was  fierce 
and  desperate,  but  the  odds  on  the  enemy’s  side  were  too  great,  and  the 
dreadful  disaster  was  soon  over.  A few,  principally  mounted  irregulars, 
managed  to  make  their  way  through  the  circle  of  Zulu  spears,  before 
it  was  quite  closed,  but  the  ground  was  full  of  boulders  and  dry  beds 
of  occasional  torrents,  so  that  many  of  these  were  overtaken  and  killed. 
With  them  were  Lieutenants  Melvill  and  Coghill,  who  were  trying  to 
save  the  colors  of  the  first  battalion  of  the  Twenty-fourth  regiment,  and 
who  reached  the  Natal  bank  of  the  Buffalo  before  they  were  struck  down. 
The  colors  were  found  in  the  river  some  days  afterward.  At  Isandlana 
nearly  seven  hundred  British  soldiers  and  thirty  colonists  were  slain,  for 
the  Zulus  gave  no  quarter.  The  victors  lost  about  three  thousand  men. 

Information  of  the  disaster  reached  Lord  Chelmsford  in  the  afternoon. 
An  officer  had  ridden  toward  camp,  and  seen  it  in  possession  of  the  Zulus. 
The  party  with  the  general,  though  weary  from  marching  in  the  hot  sun, 
at  once  commenced  to  retreat,  for  all  its  stores  of  every  kind  were  lost. 
Isandlana  was  reached  shortly  after  nightfall,  and  there  among  the  corpses 
of  their  slain  comrades,  officers  and  men  alike,  lay  down  and  tried  to  rest. 

The  Zulus,  after  plundering  the  camp,  had  retired.  At  early  dawn  the 
retreating  band  resumed  its  march,  and  reached  Natal  without  being 
molested.  At  Rorke’s  Drift,  where  the  column  had  crossed  the  Buffalo, 
there  was  a small  depot  of  provisions  and  a hospital,  and  there  a hundred 
and  thirty  soldiers,  under  Lieutenants  Bromhead  and  Chard,  had  been  left 
to  keep  open  communication  with  Natal.  About  five  o’clock  in  the  after- 
noon this  post  was  attacked  by  between  three  and  four  thousand  of  the 
ver}^  best  of  the  Zulu  soldiers,  commanded  by  Dabulamanzi,  a brother  of 
Cetewayo.  Fortunately  the  garrison  were  warned  in  time  to  make  a laager 
of  sacks  of  maize  and  boxes  of  biscuits,  behind  which  they  maintained 
such  a gallant  defense  until  four  o’clock  in  the  morning  of  the  23d  that 
Dabulamanzi  abandoned  the  attack.  Over  three  hundred  of  his  men  were 
lying  dead  around  the  laager.  Of  the  garrison,  seventeen  were  dead  and 
ten  wounded.  This  splendid  defense  saved  Natal  from  invasion,  for  if  the 
post  had  fallen,  the  colony  would  have  been  open  to  the  Zulus. 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA 


309 


The  other  columns  fared  better  than  the  one  whose  fate  lias  been  told. 
Colonel  Pearson,  with  about  two  thousand  European  combatants  and  the 
same  number  of  blacks,  crossed  the  Tugela  near  the  sea,  and  marched 
toward  Ulundi,  the  Zulu  capital,  where  tlie  whole  of  the  invading  forces 
intended  to  unite.  At  Inyesane  he  was  attacked  by  a Zulu  army,  between 
four  and  five  thousand  strong,  but  beat  it  back  with  heavy  loss,  and  on  the 
23d  of  January  reached  the  Norwegian  mission  station,  Elshowe.  There 
learning  of  the  disaster  at  Isandlana,  he  sent  his  cavalry  and  blacks  back 
to  Natal,  and  fortified  the  station,  where  he  remained  until  reinforcements 
arrived  from  England.  The  third  column  consisted  of  about  seventeen 
hundred  British  soldiers,  fifty  farmers  under  Commandant  Pieter  Uys,  and 
three  or  four  hundred  blacks,  and  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Evelyn  Wood. 
This  column  was  not  attacked  on  its  march,  and  after  Isandlana  fortified 
a post  at  Kambula,  where  it  remained.  Colonel  Wood  managed  to  inflict 
much  injury  upon  the  Zulus  in  his  neighborhood  by  frequent  sallies,  but 
on  one  occasion,  at  a mountain  named  Holobane,  his  patrol  was  nearly  sur- 
rounded and  ninety-six  of  the  party  were  killed.  Among  them  were  Com- 
mandant Uys,  Colonel  Weatherley,  and  the  son  of  the  latter,  a mere  youth, 
who  died  at  his  father’s  side,  just  as  Uys’s  brother  had  died  b}^  his  father’s 
side  forty-one  years  before.  On  the  day  after  this  event  the  laager  at 
Kambula  was  attacked  by  a niimerous  Zulu  army,  which  suffered  tremen- 
dous loss  before  it  retired  discomfited. 

In  the  beginning  of  April,  Lord  Chelmsford,  with  a strong  force  of  sol- 
diers and  sailors,  marched  from  Natal  to  the  relief  of  Colonel  Pearson  at 
Elshowe.  On  the  way  he  was  attacked  at  Ginginhloon,  but  repulsed  his 
assailants,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the  station.  As  soon  as  intelligence 
of  the  disaster  at  Isandlana  reached  England,  strong  reinforcements  ^vere 
sent  out,  and  before  June,  nine  thousand  soldiers,  cavalry  and  infantry, 
with  an  immense  quantit}^  of  munitions  of  w'ar  and  provisions,  reached 
Natal.  With  them  came  the  young  Prince  Imperial  of  France,  only  son 
of  Empress  Eugenie.  Some  time  later  he  rode  out  from  camp  with  a small 
reconnoitring  party,  which  was  surprised,  while  resting  in  the  bush,  by  a 
band  of  Zulus.  The  Prince,  being  unable  to  mount  his  horse,  was  stabbed  to 
death  by  the  assagais,  or  spears,  of  the  savages,  his  companions  having  cow- 
ardly abandoned  him  and  ridden  away.  Dispatches  soon  reached  South 
Africa  announcing  that  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  had  been  appointed  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  force.  High  Commissioner  for  Southeastern  Africa, 
and  administrator  of  the  territories  bordering  on  the  seat  of  war.  Lord 
Chelmsford  was  at  that  time  completing  his  arrangements  for  an  advance 


310 


ENGLAND  AND  RUSSIA 


upon  Ulundi.  It  looked  as  if  lie  was  to  be  deprived  of  the  satisfaction  of 
bringing  the  war  to  an  end.  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  arrived  before  the  4th  of 
July,  when  Ulundi  was  reached  and  the  final  battle  fought;  but  Lord 
Chelmsford  was  still  in  command  of  the  column. 

It  is  estimated  that  about  ten  thousand  Zulu  soldiers  were  killed  before 
the  end  of  June.  Some  twenty  thousand  more  had  lost  heart,  because  of 
their  failure  to  capture  a single  laager  during  the  war,  and  consequently 
they  had  deserted  and  dispersed.  With  from  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand 
who  remained  true  to  him,  Cetewayo  awaited  the  British  army  at  Ulundi. 
Lord  Chelmsford  formed  his  troops  in  a hollow  square,  against  which  the 
Zulus  dashed  in  vain.  Beaten  back  by  a terrible  storm  of  bullets,  and  hav- 
ing no  hope  of  breaking  the  British  square  by  even  the  heaviest  sacrifice, 
they  turned  to  retire,  when  the  cavalry  was  let  loose  upon  them.  They  dis- 
persed, never  again  to  rally. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 


(NINTH  DECADK) 

PROGRESS  AT  HOME 

[^Resume. — The  annals  of  our  country  during  the  eighth  and  ninth  decades  of  the  century  make  agree- 
able reading.  There  was  peace  and  there  was  progress.  ] 

OUR  record  of  the  Ninth  Decade  sets  out  tragically.  President  Garfield 
was  shot  to  death  by  the  assassin  Guiteau.  Of  Garfield,  one  of  his 
most  intimate  friends  has  said  : “ The  world  likes  to  hear  of  the  per- 
sonality of  its  heroes — their  habits,  tastes,  peculiarities,  likes  and  dislikes. 
I may  be  pardoned,  therefore,  for  speaking  of  things  in  connection  with  the 
dead  President  which  would  be  of  trifling  interest,  if  not  an  impertinence,  if 
said  of  one  not  widely  loved  and  honored.  General  Garfield  had  a warm,  affec- 
tionate nature.  The  people  he  liked  were  very  dear  to  him.  He  took  them 
to  his  heart  and  gave  them  his  full  confidence.  He  would  often  sit  down 
beside  a friend  and  throw  his  arm  over  his  neck,  or  put  his  hand  on  his 
shoulder  or  knee,  as  the  natural  expression  of  his  liking,  or  in  walking 
would  place  his  arm  through  that  of  the  friend.  He  had  a wa}^  of  calling 
an  intimate  friend  ©r  comrade  ^ old  boy  ’ or  ‘ old  fellow,’  and  once,  when 
Colonel  Rockwell  thanked  him  for  some  kindness,  he  said,  putting  his  hand  on 
his  friend’s  shoulder,  ‘ Oldbo}^,  the  ties  of  friendship  are  sometimes  stronger 
than  those  of  blood  !’  General  Garfield’s  tastes  were  all  simple.  He  had  no 
longings  for  luxury.  His  home  life  was  that  of  the  plain  New  England 
farmer  element  from  which  he  sprang,  broadened  and  beautified  by  culture, 
but  taking  little  note  of  the  fancies  and  extravagances  of  fashion.  He 
liked  substantial  furniture,  good  engravings,  a big  cane-seat  chair,  an  open 
fire,  a simple  meal,  a wide-brimmed  felt  hat,  and  easy-fitting  clothes.  His 
table  was  bountifully  supplied  with  plain,  well-cooked  food,  but  he  made 
his  meals  such  feasts  of  reason  that  his  guests  scarcely  noticed  what  they 
ate.  He  regarded  formal  dinners  as  a bore,  and  avoided  them  as  much  as  a 

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famous  man  well  could  whose  company  was  much  sought  by  the  dinner- 
giving people  in  Washington  ; but  he  enjoyed  lingering  at  his  own  table 
with  his  wife,  his  children,  his  old  mother,  and  two  or  three  friends,  and 
unbending  his  mind  from  the  strain  of  the  day’s  work  with  chat  and 
anecdotes.  His  memory  for  anecdotes  was  almost  as  good  as  Lincoln’s,  but 
he  remembered  best  such  as  he  got  in  his  reading  of  biography  and  histor}^, 
and  were  applicable  to  some  intellectual  theme  he  w^as  discussing,  rather 
than  the  merely  quaint  and  humorous.  There  was  not,  as  there  was  in 
Lincoln’s,  an  under-current  of  melancholy  in  Garfield’s  nature.  Until  he 
was  nominated  for  President  I never  saw  in  him  anything  like  soinbreness, 
foreboding,  or  a disposition  to  find  a sad  side  in  human  life.  His  nature 
was  sound,  buoyant,  aspiring,  and  undisturbed  by  morbid  sensibility.  He 
loved  men  and  women,  thought  the  world  a good  place  to  live  and  work  in, 
and  believed  that  when  we  get  through  with  the  affairs  of  earth  we  go  to  a 
better  country.  After  he  was  nominated  for  the  presidency  a more  serious 
and  at  times  solemn  mood  came  upon  him.  He  began  to  like  to  be  alone, 
which  was  quite  a new  thing  for  him,  for  he  used  to  want  companionship  at 
all  times,  even  when  reading  or  writing,  and  he  got  a sad  and  weary  earnest- 
ness of  expression  which  he  never  had  before.” 

The  presidential  elections  of  1876,  1880,  and  1884  had  shown  a singu- 
larly nice  balance  between  the  two  national  parties  in  the  aggregate  popular 
vote.  That  vote,  which  was  about  eight  million  three  hundred  thousand  in 
1876,  had  swelled  to  nine  million  two  hundred  thousand  in  1880,  and  to 
more  than  ten  millions  in  1884  5 relative  strength  of  parties  had 

changed  scarcely  at  all  while  it  grew.  In  1876  the  Democrats  had  had  a 
majority  of  a little  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  in  the  aggre- 
gate vote;  in  1880  the  Republicans  had  a plurality  of  nine  hundred  and 
fifteen,  more  than  three  hundred  thousand  votes  having  gone  to  the  “ Green- 
back ” party,  and  in  1884  the  Democrats  had  a plurality  of  less  than  sixty- 
three  thousand,  some  three  hundred  thousand  votes  having  again  been 
diverted  to  other  parties. 

While  parties  were  thus  held  in  equilibrium,  most  of  the  men  who  had 
guided  the  legislation  of  the  war  and  of  reconstruction  passed  out  of  politics 
and  their  places  were  taken  by  new  men.  Old  questions,  now  practically 
settled,  fell  into  the  background ; new  questions,  bred  of  the  new  times, 
thrust  themselves  imperatively  forward.  By  an  act  passed  in  1880  the  use 
of  Federal  troops  at  the  polls  had  been  forbidden,  and  with  the  abandon- 
ment of  Federal  interference  with  elections  the  “ Southern  question  ” fortu- 
natel}"  lost  its  prominence  in  party  programmes.  Financial,  economic,  and 


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administrative  interests  produced  the  problems  of  the  day.  The  most 
prominent  of  these  questions  were  the  coinage  of  silver,  the  reform  of  the 
civil  service,  the  reduction  of  tariff  duties,  the  control  of  corporations,  par- 
ticularly the  great  interstate  railways,  and  the  purification  of  the  ballot. 
Divisions  of  opinion  concerning  these  matters  b\'  no  means  coincided  with 
party  lines.  The  platforms  of  the  two  parties  became  singularly  alike,  and 
upon  many  points  alike  ambiguous.  Neither  party  could  feel  sure  before- 
hand of  its  votes  upon  particular  questions.  Upon  the  most  familiar  of  the 
subjects  of  debate — the  tariff — there  existed,  of  course,  traditional  views. 
The  Democratic  party  had  always  been  in  the  past  a low-tariff  party ; its 
utterances  upon  this  head  were  more  consistent,  and  more  unbroken  in  their 
consistency,  than  its  expressions  upon  aii}^  other  point  of  polic3\  The  Re- 
publicans, on  their  part,  inherited  not  only  the  principles  of  the  Whigs,  but 
had  also  put  them  into  practice  to  an  extent  hitherto  unprecedented  in  the 
financial  legislation  of  the  war  times.  But  nothing  showed  more  extraordi- 
nary growth  since  the  war  than  manufacturing  industry,  and  there  w^as  now 
an  influential  section  of  the  Democrats  also,  led  by  Mr.  Samuel  J.  Randall, 
of  the  great  mining  and  manufacturing  State  of  Pennsylvania,  which  was 
opposed  to  a reduction  of  the  tariff  duties.  While  repeated  efforts  were 
made,  therefore,  by  the  advocates  of  tariff  reform  to  secure  legislation  upon 
this  subject  during  the  period  we  have  now  under  consideration,  nothing  of 
any  consequence  was  accomplished. 

In  1882  a Tariff  Commission,  constituted  by  act  of  Congress,  traveled 
through  the  country,  taking  testimony  as  to  the  state  of  industr}^  and  the 
effect  upon  it  of  the  existing  tariff  laws  ; and  in  the  session  of  1882-1883, 
acting  upon  the  report  of  this  commission.  Congress  provided  for  a slight 
reduction  of  duties.  But  be^’^ond  this  nothing  was  done.  The  tariff  ques- 
tion can  hardly  be  said  to  have  become  definitively  a part}^  question  until 
Mr.  Randall’s  death  broke  the  influence  of  the  protectionist  minorit}"  among 
the  Democrats,  and  President  Cleveland’s  message  of  December,  1887, 
finally  committed  his  party  to  the  old  doctrines  by  its  explicit  and  out- 
spoken advocacy  of  tariff  reform. 

The  question  of  silver  coinage  confused  part}^  lines  more  than  any 
other.  By  an  act  of  July  14,  1870,  it  was  provided  that  the  bonds  of  the 
United  States  should  be  paid  “in  coin;”  and  an  act  of  Februar}^  12,  1873, 
suspended  the  coinage  of  silver,  except  for  subsidiary  coins  ; the  value  of 
silver,  therefore,  as  compared  with  gold,  had  very  greatly  depreciated,  to  the 
detriment,  of  course,  of  the  silver-mining  interests  of  the  West.  Gold  was 
regarded,  therefore,  by  that  large  class  of  persons  who  cannot  comprehend 


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monetary  questions  as  “ dear  ” money,  and  the  coinage  of  silver  was  de- 
manded, ill  order  that  the  country  might  have  an  abundant  supply  of 
cheap  ” money.  This  demand  came,  not  from  the  commercial  portions  of 
the  country,  of  course,  where  the  true  value  of  money  was  understood,  but 
from  the  agricultural  and  mining  regions  of  the  South  and  West.  The 
earnest  opposition  of  the  “ moneyed  interest  ” of  the  East  to  the  legislation 
proposed  only  confirmed  its  advocates  in  their  conviction  that  it  was  neces- 
sary for  their  protection  against  financial  tyranny — against  a government 
of  the  country  from  Wall  Street.  In  February,  1878,  a Republican  Senate 
and  a Democratic  House  united  in  passing  the  “ Bland  Silver  Bill  ” (pro- 
posed by  Mr.  Bland  of  Missouri)  by  heavy  majorities  over  the  President’s 
veto.  The  act  provided  for  the  coinage  of  a silver  dollar  of  412)^  grains, 
which  was  made  legal  tender  both  for  the  debts  of  the  Government  and  for 
the  debts  of  private  persons,  and  directed  that  the  mints  should  coin  such 
dollars  at  the  rate  of  not  less  than  two,  or  more  than  four,  millions  a month. 
Since  the  passage  of  that  act,  legislation  upon  the  subject  of  the  coinage 
has  been  always  impending,  but  never  accomplished — both  parties  having 
wished,  for  the  sake  of  keeping  in  favor  with  the  South  and  West,  to  please 
those  who  desire  the  unlimited  coinage  of  silver ; but  neither  party  has  ven- 
tured to  force  the  necessary  legislation  through  in  face  of  influential  oppo- 
sition from  quarters  equally  important.  It  remains  one  of  the  questions 
around  which  elements  in  both  parties  tremble,  but  do  not  cr3^stallize. 

In  the  matter  of  the  reform  of  civil  service,  there  had  been  equally  con- 
fusing party  division,  but  none  made  satisfactory  progress  in  legislation. 
Congress  withdrew  its  support  from  the  reform,  as  we  have  seen,  in  1874, 
and  the  members  of  both  houses  had  too  keen  a relish  for  their  share  in 
dispensing  the  patronage  of  the  Government  to  wish  to  see  legislation  upon 
the  subject  revived.  But  after  the  scandalous  and  tragical  events  of  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1881,  it  was  impossible  to  resist  any  longer  the  press- 
ure of  opinion.  Almost  immediately  after  Mr.  Garfield  became  President, 
in  j\Iarch,  1881,  both  of  the  Senators  from  New  York  resigned  their  seats 
because  he  would  not  allow  them  to  dictate  his  choice  of  a collector  for  the 
port  of  New  York.  The  country  soon  received  tragical  proof  of  what  clamor 
for  olfice  means.  On  January  9,  1883,  therefore,  the  “ Pendleton  Civil 
Service  Act  ” passed  Congress,  with  the  support  of  both  parties.  It  was 
proposed  by  a Democratic  Senator,  Mr.  Pendleton  of  Ohio,  in  a Republican 
Senate;  passed  the  Senate  and  the  Democratic  House  b}"  good  majorities; 
and  was  promptl}^  signed  by  the  Republican  President,  who  had  previously 
declared  his  willingness  to  support  such  an  act.  It  authorized  the  President 


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to  order  appointments  to  the  civil  service  to  be  made  by  competitive  exam- 
ination, and  to  constitute  a Civil  Service  Commission  for  the  management 
and  development  of  the  system.  President  Arthur  put  it  immediately  into 
force. 

The  multiplication  of  railways  facilitated  the  acquaintance  of  Southern 
with  Northern  people  far  beyond  what  was  possible  before  the  war.  Trav- 
eling salesmen  from  the  North  penetrated  the  remotest  hamlets  of  the 
South,  impelled  by  every  consideration  to  produce  the  most  favorable  im- 
pression possible.  The  selection  of  Southerners  for  important  national 
offices  by  Presidents  Grant,  Hayes,  Arthur,  and  Cleveland,  the  election  of 
the  last-named,  a Democrat,  as  President  in  1884  and  1892,  and  the  exist- 
ence of  a Democratic  inajority  in  the  House  of  Representatives  almost 
constantly  from  1874 — all  felicitously  combined  to  beget  in  the  people  of 
the  South  a conviction  that  they  were  really  and  truly  citizens  of  the  Union 
again.  The  rise  in  several  Southern  States  of  a strong  Republican  organi- 
zation among  the  whites  wrought  in  the  same  direction.  Nor  must  we  over- 
look, as  another  cementing  influence,  the  fraternizing  of  Northern  and  South- 
ern soldiers  in  great  reunions,  such  as  occurred  at  Gettysburg,  Richmond, 
and  other  places.  The  South’s  material  prosperity  kept  pace  with  her 
political  peace.  It  had  always  been  said  that  cotton  was  to  be  produced 
only  by  slave  labor,  but  this  assertion  was  now  disproved.  The  largest  cot- 
ton crop  under  slavery,  that  of  i860,  reached  4,669,770  bales.  In  1871, 
1876,  and  1877,  each,  notwithstanding  the  economic  chaos  and  the  measure- 
less destruction  of  capital  occasioned  by  the  war,  those  figures  were  almost 
equalled;  in  1878  they  were  surpassed;  in  1879  and  1880,  each,  over 
5,000,000  bales  were  raised;  in  1881,  1883,  and  1886,  each,  over  6,000,000, 
the  exact  figure  for  the  year  last  named  being  6,550,215.  In  1890,  7,472,511 
bales  were  produced. 

Says  Professor  Andrews  : “ This  cotton  exhibit  is  sufficiently  gratif}^- 
ing,  yet  the  post-bellum  crops  might  have  been  far  larger  had  not  much 
energy  at  the  South  been  happily  diverted  into  manufacturing  channels. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  hopeful  features  of  the  New  South.  Nearly  ever}^ 
department  of  industry  in  this  kind  is  now  pushed  there  at  many  points. 
Nashville  has  become  a great  manufacturing  and  commercial  city.  It 
boasts  one  of  the  largest  foundries  in  the  countr^q  and  several  flourish- 
ing cotton  factories.  Chattanooga,  Birmingham,  and  Anniston  are  all 
thrifty  with  iron  and  steel  industries,  which  rival  the  most  prosperous  ones 
at  the  North ; nor  are  there  wanting  those  who  predict  that  the  region  of 
those  cities,  viz..  Southern  Tennessee  with  Northern  Georgia  and  Alabama, 


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is  speedily  to  become  the  centre  of  iron  and  steel  production  for  tlie  world.” 
The  lumber  trade  of  Chattanooga,  particularly  in  the  white  woods,  is  said 
to  be  second  onl}^  to  Chicago’s.  The  city  also  has  a tannery,  believed  to  be 
the  largest  in  the  world,  and  more  than  one  fully  appointed  Bessemer  steel 
manufactory.  These  steel  works  and  the  tannery  employ  colored  operatives 
almost  exclusively,  many  of  them  exceedingl}^  skillful.  Birmingham  is 
entirely  a creation  of  the  days  since  the  war,  3^et  it  has  already  more  than 
twenty-six  thousand  inhabitants,  against  three  thousand  in  1880,  and  enjoys 
marvelous  prosperit}^,  hindered  only  by  speculation  in  land.  Much  of  the 
marble  in  the  mountains  of  Tennessee,  Alabama,  and  Georgia  is  finer  than 
aii}^  found  elsewhere  in  this  country.  The  block  of  marble  forwarded  from 
Alabama  for  the  Washington  Monument  experts  condemned  for  the  purpose 
as  certainly  Italian,  nor  was  it  permitted  a place  in  that  structure  till  the 
Governor  of  the  State  and  the  Members  of  Congress  therefrom  certified 
upon  honor,  and  the  quarry-masters  made  affidavit,  that  it  came  out  of  the 
Alabama  hills.  Atlanta  has  risen  from  the  ashes  in  which  the  war  left  it, 
to  be  a city  of  over  sixt^^-five  thousand  people,  with  every  promise  of  great 
industrial  life  and  progress. 

Between  1870  and  1880,  although  the  population  of  Mobile  decreased, 
that  of  Charleston  rose  about  one  and  one-fifth  per  cent.,  that  of  Savannah 
about  five  and  one-quarter  per  cent.,  that  of  New  Orleans  about  thirteen 
per  cent.,  of  Richmond  about  twenty-six  per  cent.  Between  1880  and  1890, 
Mobile  advanced  about  six  and  one-half  per  cent.,  Charleston  almost 
ten  per  cent..  Savannah  over  forty  per  cent.,  New  Orleans  over  twelve  per 
cent.,  and  Richmond  exactly  twenty-eight  per  cent.  It  would  be  mislead- 
ing, however,  to  suppose  the  progress  in  material  welfare  indicated  by  these 
and  the  foregoing  statements  is  true  of  every  district  in  the  South.  The 
merely  agricultural  regions  are  still  far  behind.  Methods  of  tilling  the  soil 
are  much  the  same  as  prevailed  fort}^  years  ago,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that 
the  colored  people,  who  largely  have  immediate  charge  of  this  work,  prose- 
cute it,  as  3"et,  with  less  skill  than  did  overseers  and  planters  before  slavery 
was  abolished.  Yet  in  1890  the  farm  valuation  of  the  South  was  found  to 
exceed  its  highest  ante-bellum  figures  and  almost  to  equal  one-fifth  of  the 
entire  valuation  of  the  countr3^  To  the  general  backwardness  of  Southern 
agriculture  there  is  one  striking  exception.  The  State  of  Florida  has 
undergone,  of  late  3^ears,  a most  astounding  change  for  the  better.  Her 
total  railway  mileage  of  416  miles  when  the  w^ar  ended  had  grown  to  2,470 
miles  by  1890.  The  farm  valuation  was  in  1880  twenty  and  one-half 
million  dollars.  The  population  in  1890  exceeded  that  of  1880  by  almost 


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fifty  per  cent.  Steamboats  are  upon  every  coast  and  river.  This  is  due 
not  alone  to  the  State’s  popularity  as  a winter  sanitarium  for  Northern 
people.  It  is  also  the  early  market-garden  for  the  North.  Its  oranges 
largel}^  supply  the  trade,  and  are  much  sought  for  because  of  their  excel- 
lent qualit}^  The  State  is  excessively  rich  in  the  finest  ornamental  woods, 
which  are  rapidly  finding  their  way  into  the  market.  Nearly  all  the  crops 
of  the  temperate  zone  and  the  fruits  of  the  torrid  flourish  there  with  the 
utmost  luxuriance,  many  of  them  being  natives,  others  taking  to  the  soil 
with  a greater  friendliness  than  they  displa3^ed  for  that  whence  they  were 
transplanted.  Fully  fifty  varieties  of  sub-tropical  trees  that  grow  nowhere 
else  in  the  Union  adorn  Florida’s  ke^^s  and  coasts.  The  State  promises  to 
rival  Louisiana  in  the  production  of  sugar,  and  South  Carolina  in  that  of 
rice,  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  at  no  distant  day  it  will  supply  the  entire 
American  demand  for  cocoanuts.  The  mulberr}^  is  indigenous  to  every 
part  of  this  new  Eden,  which  may,  therefore,  at  no  late  date  become  an  im- 
mense producer  of  raw  silk.  Cattle  feed  and  fatten  everywhere  without 
shelter,  in  winter  as  in  summer. 

No  one  can  predict  with  certainty  the  future  of  the  colored  race.  After 
the  census  of  1870,  which  reduced  the  percentage  of  our  African  population 
from  14. 1 (the  figure  of  i860)  to  12.7,  many  rushed  to  the  conclusion  that 
these  people  might,  ere  long,  vanish  from  our  land.  The  census  of  1880, 
however,  dispelled  this  fanc}^  for  the  percentage  rose  to  13. i,  while  that  of 
1890  increased  it  to  13.5.  Previously  to  1870,  the  race  had  been  steadily 
decreasing  in  fecundity,  but  the  more  favorable  conditions  afforded  by  free- 
dom may  have  changed  this.  Even  should  the  decrease  continue,  the  colored 
people  ought  to  have  been  at  least  eight  or  ten  per  cent,  of  our  total  population 
in  1900.  As  the  climatic  area  where  they  have  an^^  advantages  over  whites 
in  the  battle  of  life  is  less  than  the  per  cent,  named,  their  success  in  the 
struggle  will  depend  upon  their  ability  to  compete  with  the  rival  blood  in 
higher  callings.  Their  promise  so  to  improve  is,  on  the  whole,  good,  and 
as  educational  appliances  on  their  behalf  multiply  must  improve. 

Aside  from  West  Virginia,  made  during  the  war  from  the  lo3"al  part  of 
Virginia,  the  new  States  admitted  into  the  Union  since  i860  are:  Kansas, 
1861;  Nevada,  1864;  Nebraska,  1867;  Colorado,  1876;  North  Dakota, 
1889;  South  Dakota,  1889;  Montana,  1889 ; Washington,  1889 ; Idaho, 
1890,  and  Wyoming,  1890.  The  wdiole  number  of  States  thus  became  forty- 
four.  We  had  also,  in  the  year  1894,  four  organized  Territories,  Arizona, 
New  Mexico,  Utah,  and  Oklahoma,  carved  out  of  the  Indian  Territor3^  in 
the  year  1890.  Alaska  is  as  yet  a partially  organized  Territor3q  having  no 


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territorial  Legislature,  and  being  under  tlie  laws  of  the  United  States  and  the 
State  of  Oregon.  It  was  purchased  by  the  United  States  from  Russia,  in 
1867,  for  the  sum  of  $7,200,000.  It  remained  without  any  organization 
until  the  act  of  May  17,  1884,  which  gave  it  a governor,  a district  court,  an 
attorney,  a marshal,  and  commissioners.  The  value  to  our  Union  of  this 
new  acquisition,  with  its  531,409  square  miles  and  a coast  line  longer  than 
that  upon  our  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts  together,  was  at  first  doubtful,  and 
may  be  pronounced  to  some  extent  so  even  now.  Yet  the  mone}^  was  evi- 
dently not  thrown  awa}^  Governor  Swineford,  appointed  over  the  Terri- 
tor}^  in  1885,  declares  that  throughout  Southern  Alaska  and  the  Aleutian 
Islands  the  climate  is  moderate,  even  in  winter,  and  he  gave  records  of  ther- 
mometrical  observations  which  seem  to  prove  this  statement.  He  further 
maintains  that,  in  the  parts  named,  all  our  hardier  plants  grow  to  maturity 
in  summer,  and  attain  an  extraordinary  luxuriance.  In  1890’  4,298  white 
people  had  homes  in  Alaska,  besides  1,823  inixed,  23,531  Indians,  and  2,288 
klongolians,  a total  population  of  32,052. 

The  Alaska  Commercial  Company  pays  the  United  States  $55,000 
3^early  for  its  monopoly  of  the  Alaska  seal-fur  trade.  The  product  of  this 
business  is  about  $2,500,000  each  year.  An  official  report  made  to  our  Gov- 
ernment states  that  in  the  year  1880,  $2,181,832  worth  of  Alaska  furs  found 
sale  ill  London  alone.  Coal  has  been  discovered  in  various  places.  So  has 
white  marble.  Gold-bearing  ledges  are  numerous,  and  the  only  one  of  these 
3^et  broached,  that  on  Douglas  Island,  has  certainly  yielded  well.  The  mill 
connected  with  it,  working  only  the  equivalent  of  two-thirds  time,  turned 
out  during  its  first  twelve  months  a little  over  $750,000  worth  of  gold  bull- 
ion. For  the  year  1889,  from  somewhat  imperfect  returns,  the  product 
frojii  this  remote  patch  of  our  national  domain  was  as  follows  : Seal  fisher- 
ies, $314,925,  a falling  off  of  over  eighty  per  cent,  in  nine  years  ; other  fish- 
eries, $1,059,365,  an  increase  of  about  one  hundred  per  cent,  for  the  same 
period;  43,762  troy  ounces  of  gold  and  9,219  troy  ounces  of  silver.  In  1890 
there  were  ten  manufacturing  establishments,  whose  product  amounted  to 
$58,440.  Since  i860  there  has  been  a steady  filling  up  of  the  Pacific  coast,  ’ 
and  an  equally  continual  extension  of  population  to  the  west  on  this  side 
the  Rockies.  All  Iowa  is  reclaimed,  and  all  Minnesota  but  the  extreme 
northwest  corner.  The  rate  of  interest  has  in  fifteen  years  gone  down  in 
Iowa  from  ten  to  seven  or  eight  per  cent.,  in  Michigan  from  ten  to  six  or 
seven  per  cent.  Chicago,  from  being  only  a borrower  of  money,  has  grown 
to  be  an  immense  lender  for  enterprises  in  the  West.  Settlements  in  Kan- 
sas, Nebraska,  and  Texas  have  moved  westward  with  strength  and  rapidit}^ 


PROGRESS  AT  HOME 


319 


Some  of  Nebraska’s  finest  new  towns,  like  Hastings,  are  well  toward  tlie 
State’s  extreme  western  border. 

The  construction  of  the  five  great  Pacific  railway  lines,  the  Northern, 
the  Union,  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  the  Southern,  and  tlie  Great  Northern, 
with  their  various  branches,  has  brought  into  valuable  employ  immense 
areas  of  fertile  land  previously  no  better  than  a desert.  Texas  has  made 
most  remarkable  advance,  both  in  square  miles  occupied  and  in  density  of 
population,  brought  about  by  great  extension  of  railway  mileage  and  the 
increase  of  sheep,  cattle,  and  the  area  of  wheat  culture.  Large  portions  of  the 
Dakotas  and  Montana  are  filled  with  settlers.  Colorado  is  a giant  in  produc- 
tion, the  rush  of  population  thither,  in  consequence  of  the  extensive  and 
rich  mineral  discoveries  about  Leadville,  having  caused  a stampede  almost 
like  that  of  1849-50  to  California.  Every  hill  was  black  with  miners. 
The  growth  of  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  Nevada,  considering  their  natural 
wealth,  has  been  slow,  owing  in  part  to  Indian  hostilities.  Thus  New 
Mexico  has  fallen  from  rank  thirty-seven  in  1870  to  rank  forty-three  in 
1890.  Tucson,  Arizona,  according  to  the  best  figures,  also  fell  off  between 
1880  and  1887  from  ten  thousand  to  seventy-five  hundred  inhabitants.  In 
material  things,  Utah  prospers  greatly  under  thrift,  economy,  and  hard  work 
of  the  Mormons.  There  mining  and  speculation  are  less  rigidly  pressed, 
and  more  energy  is  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits. 

In  California,  a smaller  proportion  than  formerly  is  now  applied  to 
mining,  and  a larger  to  agriculture  and  cattle-raising.  Its  southern  part  is 
becoming  the  competitor  of  Florida  as  a winter  residence.  Oregon  and 
Washington  vie  with  Minnesota  for  the  world-medal  in  wheat  culture.  Over 
the  vast  pasture  lands  at  both  feet  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  roam  herds  of 
bullocks,  destined  to  feed  distant  cities  in  America  and  Europe.  Many  of 
these  lands  will  in  the  course  of  time  be  ploughed,  and  through  the  aid  of 
irrigation  turned  into  corn  fields,  wheat  fields,  and  market  gardens,  a proc- 
ess which  in  New  Mexico  is  already  well  advanced.  Not  all,  of  course,  can  be 
utilized.  There  is  a tract,  enclosed  by  the  parallels  31°  and  45°  and  the 
meridians  100°  and  120°,  which  seems  destined  to  perpetual  sterility, 
although  many  enterprises  have  been  conceived  and  some,  like  the  scheme 
of  the  Colorado  River  Irrigation  Company,  initiated  for  redeeming  it. 
Crops  grow  there  only  under  constant  irrigation,  and  permanent  w^ater 
supplies  are  painfully  scarce.  Next  to  no  woodland  exists,  save  near  to 
the  few  streams,  and  of  the  scanty  trees  which  grow,  scarcely  a single 
variety  of  hard  wood  is  found.  Texas  and  Wyoming  have  also  each  a 
small  precious-metal  product.  The  region  comprised  in  the  States  and 


320 


PROGRESS  AT  HOME 


Territories  above  named  is  not  only  our  richest  precious-metal  field,  but  one 
of  the  richest  on  the  globe.  The  picture  presented  is  not  so  glowing  for 
the  years  1893-94,  during  which  great  depression  afflicted  the  entire  West; 
but  the  prospect  is  that  this  check  is  only  temporary. 

The  city  of  San  Francisco  had  500  inhabitants  in  1840,  34,776  in 
1850,  56,802  in  i860,  149,473  in  1870,  233,959  1880,  298,997  in  1890. 

This  progress  may  be  taken  as  in  some  sense  an  index  of  that  of  the  West 
as  a whole,  far  more  so  than  the  apparently  spasmodic  increase  of  some 
of  California’s  smaller  centres.  Los  Angeles  has  mounted  from  a popula- 
tion of  5,728  in  1870,  and  of  11,183  in  1880,  to  one  of  50,395  in  1890. 
Oakland  had  but  10,500  in  1870.  Ten  years  later  the  figure  was  34,555, 
and  in  1890  it  was  48,682.  Stockton  leaped  from  10,287  in  1880  to  14,424 
in  1890.  In  1858,  Denver  was  uninhabited.  In  1870,  it  numbered  4,759 
souls;  in  1880,  35,629;  in  1890,  106,713.  Portland,  far  up  in  Oregon, 
numbered  46,000  inhabitants.  In  the  decade  1880-90,  Wyoming  grew  from 
20,789  to  60,705. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 


(NINTH  DECADE) 

ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 

\_Rhume. — The  Eighth  Decade  was  an  extraordinarily  active  one  for  England.  During  it,  Queen  Victoria 
was  made  Empress  of  India,  and  there  occurred  the  Conference  and  Treaty  of  Berlin,  the  Turko- 
Russian  War,  and  the  troubles  between  Afghanistan  and  South  Africa.] 

WHEN  Gladstone  returned  to  power,  Mr.  Forster  was  appointed  Chief 
Secretary  for  Ireland,  with  Eord  Cowper  as  Viceroy.  There  was 
great  distress  in  Ireland,  and  exceptional  efforts  had  been  made,  both 
by  the  Government  and  the  people  of  the  country,  to  meet  it.  A benevolent 
fund  had  been  raised,  chiefly  through  the  influence  of  the  Duchess  of  Marl- 
borough, wife  of  the  Lord-Lieutenant,  and  a Distress  Relief  Act  had  been 
carried  by  Parliament  to  empower  the  application  of  three-quarters  of  a 
million  of  the  Irish  Church  Fund,  and  some  good  had  unquestionably  been 
done  by  the  public  and  private  eflbrt  thus  made  to  relieve  distress ; but  it 
was  clear,  from  the  results  of  the  elections  and  from  the  speeches  of  the  Irish 
leaders,  that  it  was  not  to  measures  of  this  kind  that  the  people  looked  for 
permanent  relief.  The  unusual  distress  of  1879  had  intensified  and  aggra- 
vated the  chronic  disaffection,  and  sixty  members  had  been  returned  to  Par- 
liament who  were  pledged  to  do  their  utmost  to  put  an  end  to  English  rule 
in  Ireland  by  securing  Home  Rule.  Flushed  with  the  brilliant  success  they 
had  achieved,  the  Liberal  party  entered  upon  office  confident  that  a career 
of  prosperity  lay  before  them. 

Lord  Beaconsfield’s  defeat  had  been  brought  about  by  the  national 
repudiation  of  his  foreign  policy  ; and,  in  the  first  instance,  it  was  of  foreign 
rather  than  domestic  affairs  that  the  new  House  of  Commons  was  thinking. 
But  Ireland  at  once  came  to  the  front.  The  existing  Coercion  Act  would 
expire  in  a few  weeks,  and  it  was  necessar}^  to  secure  its  renewal  before  it 
lapsed  ; but  the  Cabinet  resolved  to  try  the  experiment  of  governing  by 

321 


322 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


means  of  the  ordinary  law.  The  Lords  threw  out  Mr.  Forster’s  measures 
intended  to  relieve  Ireland.  He  did  not  scruple  to  avow  his  vexation  and 
resentment  at  their  summary  rejection,  and  the  dangerous  effect  it  would 
have  in  the  disturbed  districts  during  the  coming  winter,  which  might  lead 
to  the  adoption  of  much  stronger  measures,  both  of  concession  and  coercion, 
than  the  Government  had  hitherto  attempted.  In  response,  Mr.  Parnell,  in 
addressing  a great  audience  at  Ennis,  enunciated  the  plan  already  known  as 
boycotting,  whereby  every  man  who  took  an  evicted  farm,  and  everyone  who 
aided  or  abetted  eviction,  should  be  shunned  as  a leper  in  the  fair,  refused 
custom  in  the  market,  and  treated  as  an  intruder  at  the  altar.  Before  the 
year  was  out  the  courts  established  by  the  Land  League  publicly  heard  and 
determined  the  merits  of  each  case  as  it  arose.  The  signal  for  acts  of  sum- 
mary violence  was  set  by  the  fate  of  Lord  Mountmorres,  who  had  incurred 
popular  dislike  by  his  conduct  as  a rigorous  magistrate,  and  was  put  to  death 
on  the  highwa}^  near  his  own  house  in  open  daylight.  Mr.  Forster  early 
proposed  to  suspend  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  and  to  prosecute  the  prominent 
movers  of  the  agitation.  Mr.  Gladstone  clung  to  the  hope  that  the  friends  of 
law  and  order  would  combine  to  suppress  the  tendencies  to  outrage. 

The  year  i88i  witnessed  the  passage  of  two  important  Irish  measures. 
The  first  of  these  was  a Protection  of  Life  and  Property  Bill  brought  in  in 
January  by  Mr.  Forster,  then  Chief  Secretary  of  Ireland.  As  was  to  be 
expected,  this  was  vehemently  opposed  by  the  Nationalist  members,  who 
retarded  it  by  every  means  in  their  power,  one  famous  sitting  of  the  House 
on  this  occasion  lasting  for  forty-two  hours,  from  five  o’clock  on  Monday 
afternoon  to  nine  o’clock  the  Wednesday  following,  and  then  only  being 
brought  to  an  end  by  the  authority  of  the  Speaker.  By  March,  however, 
the  bill  passed,  and  in  the  following  month,  April  7,  a new  Irish  Land  Act 
was  brought  forward  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  was  passed  after  much  opposi- 
tion the  following  autumn.  The  full  scope  and  p^irport  of  this  act  it  is  far 
beyond  the  limits  of  these  few  pages  to  enter  upon.  Although,  to  some 
extent  an  outcome  of  the  Act  of  1870,  it  cannot  in  strictness  be  called  a 
mere  development  or  completion  of  it,  being  in  many  respects  based  upon 
entirely  new  principles.  The  most  salient  of  these  are  what  are  known  as 
the  “ three  F’s,”  namely — Fixity  of  Tenure,  Fair  Rent,  to  be  decided  by  a 
Land  Court,  and  Free  Sale.  As  regards  the  last  two,  it  has  been  pointed  out 
with  some  force  that  the  one  practically  does  away  with  the  other,  the  only 
person  benefited  being  the  immediate  occupier,  at  whose  departure  that  fierce 
competitive  desire  for  the  land,  which  is  the  real  root  of  the  whole  difficulty, 
being  allowed  freer  play  than  ever.  With  regard  to  the  first,  its  effect  may 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  EIOME  AND  ABROAD 


323 


be  briefly  stated  as  that  of  reducing  the  owner  to  the  position  of  a rent- 
cliarger  or  annuitant  upon  what  had  before  been  his  own  estate,  thereby 
depriving  him — even  where  want  of  means  did  not  effectually  do  so — of  all 
desire  to  expend  capital  upon  what  had  henceforth  ceased  to  be  his  property, 
and  over  the  management  of  which  he  had  almost  wholly  lost  control. 
That  this  is  a change  of  a very  sweeping  character  it  is  needless  to  say. 

Henceforward  ownership  of  land  in  Ireland  is  no  longer  ownership  in 
the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word.  It  is  an  ownership  of  two  persons  instead 
of  one ; and  a divided  ownership,  even  where  two  people  work  together  har- 
moniously, is,  as  most  of  us  are  aw^are,  a very  trying  relationship  to  main- 
tain, and  is  apt  to  be  followed,  sooner  or  later,  by  the  effacement  of  the  rights 
of  one  or  the  other.  Kow  these  diverging  rights  are  finally  to  be  adjusted 
is  at  this  moment  the  problem  of  problems  in  Ireland,  and  still  imperatively 
awaits  solution. 

In  October  of  i88i,  Mr.  Parnell,  Mr.  Davitt,  and  other  principal  mem- 
bers of  the  Land  League  were  arrested  by  order  of  the  Government  and 
lodged  in  Kilmainham  jail,  an  event  announced  the  same  evening  by  Mr. 
Gladstone  at  the  Guildhall  banquet.  The  following  May,  the  Liberal 
Government  resolved,  however,  rather  suddenly,  to  reverse  their  previous 
policy,  and  the  Irish  leaders  w^ere  set  at  liberty.  About  the  same  time 
Lord  Cowper  and  Mr.  Forster,  the  Lord  Lieutenant  and  Chief  Secretary, 
resigned,  and  were  replaced  by  Lord  Spencer  and  Lord  Frederic^k  Cavendish, 
who  arrived  in  Ireland  avowedly  upon  a mission  of  conciliation. 

The  day  of  their  arrival — May  6,  1882 — has  been  made  only  too  mem- 
orable to  the  world  by  the  appalling  tragedy  which  took  place  the  same 
evening  in  Phoenix  Park,  where  Lord  Frederick  and  Mr.  Burke,  the  Lender 
Secretary,  while  walking  together  in  the  early  dusk,  were  murdered  b}^  a 
party  of  miscreants,  who  escaped  before  any  suspicion  of  the  crime  was 
aroused,  even  in  the  minds  of  those  who  had  actually  witnessed  the  struggle 
from  a distance.  For  many  months  no  clue  to  the  perpetrators  of  the  deed 
was  discoverable,  and  it  seemed  to  be  only  too  likely  to  be  added  to  the  long 
list  of  crimes  for  which  no  retribution  has  ever  been  exacted.  Happily  for 
Irish  honor,  this  proved  not  the  case,  and  six  months  later,  in  the  month  of 
January,  1883,  a series  of  inquiries  carried  on  in  Dublin  Castle  led  to  the 
arrest  of  no  less  than  seventeen  men,  all  of  whom  were  lodged  in  prison 
and  bail  for  them  refused.  ' Among  these  was  a man  of  somewhat  higher 
social  standing  than  the  others — a tradesman,  and  member  of  the  Dublin 
Council — the  notorious  James  Carey,  who  not  long  afterward  turned  Queen’s 
evidence,  and  it  was  mainly  through  his  testimony,  supplemented  by  that 


324 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


of  two  others,  that  the  rest  of  the  gang  were  convicted.  At  the  trial  it  was 
proven  that  the  murder  of  Lord  PVederick  Cavendish  had  formed  no  part  of 
the  original  scheme,  and  had  arisen  accidentally  out  of  the  circumstance  of 
his  having  joined  Mr.  Burke,  who  upon  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Forster,  the 
Chief  Secretary,  was  selected  by  the  Invincibles  as  their  next  victim.  Con- 
viction was  obtained  without  difficulty  against  all  the  prisoners,  and  five 
were  shortly  afterward  hanged,  the  remainder  receiving  sentence  of  penal 
servitude,  either  for  life  or  long  periods. 

Carey’s  own  end  was  sufficiently  dramatic.  He  was  kept  in  prison,  as 
the  only  way  of  insuring  his  safety  until  means  could  be  found  to  get  him 
out  of  the  country.  He  w^as  finally  shipped,  some  months  later,  to  the 
Cape.  On  his  way  thither  he  was  shot  dead  by  a man  called  O’Don- 
nell, who  appears  to  have  gone  out  with  him  for  the  purpose.  His  fate 
could  certainly  awaken  no  pity  in  the  most  merciful  breast.  By  his  own 
confession,  not  only  had  he  to  a great  degree  planned  the  murder  and 
helped  to  draw  the  others  into  it,  but  had  actually  selected  the  ver}^ 
weapon  by  wffiich  it  was  accomplished,  so  that  of  all  the  miscreants  en- 
gaged in  the  perpetration  of  the  crime,  he  was  perhaps  the  deepest  dA^ed 
and  the  most  guilty. 

In  December,  iSSo,  an  insurrection  broke  out  in  South  Africa.  The 
insurgents  were  few  in  number,  but  the  British  troops  in  the  country 
were  still  fewer  and  wholly  unprepared,  so  they  were  obliged  to  surrender 
or  were  shut  up  and  besieged  in  a few  fortified  posts.  N Boer  force  seized 
the  chief  pass  leading  from  the  Transvaal  into  Natal,  because  this  was  the 
route  which  an  English  army  coming  to  reconquer  the  country  would  be 
sure  to  take.  Here  they  repelled  a small  English  force,  for  the  English 
had  as  very  few  soldiers  in  Natal,  and  shortl}^  afterward  (Februar}^  26, 
1881)  defeated  and  killed  the  English  commander.  General  Colle}^  who, 
with  a want  of  prudence  that  has  never  been  accounted  for,  led  a detach- 
ment to  the  top  of  a mountain  (Majuba  Hill)  commanding  the  pass,  without 
taking  proper  steps  to  guard  the  position  or  to  secure  support  from  the  rest 
of  his  force.  There  were  loud  cries  in  England  that  vengeance  should  be 
taken  for  this  defeat,  which  could  easily  have  been  avenged,  for  in  a few 
weeks  reinforcements  arrived  far  too  strong  for  the  Boers  to  resist.  But  the 
British  Government,  much  to  its  credit,  gave  no  heed  to  these  cries.  It 
was  to  blame  for  having  failed  sooner  to  discover  the  real  state  of  things  in 
the  Transvaal,  and  for  not  having  done  its  best,  by  a prompt  removal  of 
grievances,  to  appease  the  discontent  of  the  people.  But,  now  that  it  knew 
the  facts  ; knew  that  the  hasty  annexation  had  been  a blunder ; knew  how 


many  distinguished  visitors  present. 


Herder, 


5 r/uozi\ 


Lessing 


^CHiLLt^ 


6CHLE'^^'' 


(iUEAT  (JEU^IAN  AT^THORS. 


(loctlic,  one  of  I Ilf  gr<‘:itf>1  of  < if  riiiaii  writers,  was 
horn  ill  1749,  and  died  in  !.s;!2. 

Herder,  jiliilosoplicr,  jioft,  a .d  llieidogiaii,  wa>  liorn 
in  1744,  ami  died  in  I HO:'). 

Lessing,  critic  and  dramatist,  was  Imh-ii  in  1729,  and 
difil  in  17sl. 


Mommsen,  historian,  born  in  1817. 

Schiller,  poet,  was  born  in  1759,  and  died  in  1805. 
Pestalozzi,  Swiss  educator,  born  in  1746;  died  in  1827. 
Sfhlegel,  critic  and  jioet,  was  born  in  1767,  and  died 
in  1845. 

Heine,  poet,  was  born  in  bsoo,  and  died  in  H56. 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


325 


much  the  Boers  valued  their  independence  ; knew  how  strong  was  the  sym- 
pathy felt  for  them  by  the  Dutch  element  all  over  South  Africa — a sym- 
pathy which  might  have  ended  in  a war  with  the  Free  State  and  a civil  war 
■in  Cape  Colony — they  determined  to  undo  the  annexation  of  1877.  ^ 

ventioii  was  accordingly  concluded  in  August,  1881,  with  the  Provisional 
Government  which  the  Transvaal  had  set  up.  By  this  instrument  Britain 
recognized  the  Transvaal  State  as  autonomous,  reserving  to  herself,  how- 
ever, the  control  of  all  foreign  relations,  and  declaring  the  suzerainty  of  the 
Queen.  The  Cabinet  of  Mr.  Gladstone  was  warmly  attacked  in  England 
for  its  action  in  thus,  as  its  opponents  said,  weakly  surrendering  to  rebels, 
while  others  held  that  it  had  acted  not  only  magnanimously,  but  also 
wisel}^,  since  the  evil  of  a race  conflict  between  English  and  Dutch  in  South 
Africa  far  outweighed  the  objections  to  sitting  down  under  a defeat,  espe- 
cially when  all  the  world  knew  that  the  defeat  could  have  been  easil}^ 
avenged,  were  mere  vengeance  a proper  object  of  war. 

Says  Professor  Bryce  : “ Men  still  wrangle  over  the  question  in  England, 
and  may  long  continue  to  do  so,  for  it  is  to  some  extent  a moral  as  well  as 
a political  question,  and  different  minds  view  moral  problems  differently. 
Regarded  as  a pure  matter  of  politics,  it  may  be  pronounced  to  have  been 
right,  upon  the  data  which  the  British  Government  then  possessed,  for 
there  was  nothing  to  be  gained  by  reconquering  a large  country  of  slender 
value,  and  by  undertaking  to  rule  over  a mass  of  disaffected  subjects,  while 
the  danger  of  a race  war  in  South  Africa  was  to  be  at  all  hazards  avoided. 
Nevertheless,  as  things  have  in  fact  turned  out,  much  of  the  good  which 
was  then  reasonably  expected  has  failed  to  be  secured.  The  Boers  who 
deemed,  and  were  indeed  justified  in  deeming,  the  annexation  of  1877 
have  been  an  act  of  pure  force,  which  gave  the  British  Crown  no  de  jure  title 
to  their  allegiance,  thought  that  when  the  insurrection  had  succeeded,  their 
republic  ought  to  have  been  replaced  in  its  old  position  under  the  Sand 
River  Convention,  a position  of  perfect  independence.  They,  therefore, 
showed  little  gratitude  for  the  concession  of  practical  autonomy,  and  did  not 
resign  the  hope  of  ultimately  regaining  complete  independence.  Besides, 
though  they  could  not  but  see  that  the  British  Ministry  had  refrained  from 
using  their  superior  power  to  take  vengeance  which  might  have  been  easil}^ 
taken,  the}"  knew  that  the  danger  of  alienating  the  Cape  Dutch  had  been 
one  of  the  motives  which  determined  its  conduct.  However,  the  whole 
question  might,  and  probably  soon  would,  have  lost  its  importance  but  for 
an  event  which  happened  four  years  after — the  discovery  in  the  Transvaal 
of  a gold  field  unique  in  the  world.” 


326 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


When  the  Transvaal  Boers  had  recovered  their  rights  of  internal  self- 
government,  they  immediately  began  to  work  for  two  things — the  concession 
of  complete  independence,  such  as  they  had  enjo3’ed  under  the  Sand  River 
Convention,  and  the  extension  of  their  influence  over  the  native  territories 
that  lay  around  them.  Their  War  of  Independence  had  stimulated  in  an 
amazing  degree  their  national  feeling,  and  had  revived  in  them  that  bold 
and  venturesome  spirit  which  marked  the  first  years  after  the  Great  Trek. 
To  the  east  the  Boers  succeeded,  after  a long  diplomatic  controversy  with 
Britain,  in  getting  hold  of  Swaziland,  a small  native  territory  inhabited  by 
a branch  of  the  Zulu  race.  They  would  have  liked  to  go  still  further  and 
reach  the  coast  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  but  Britain  anticipated  them  by  step- 
ping in  to  proclaim  a protectorate  over  the  Kafir  chiefs  who  held  the  un- 
healthy little  strip  of  land  that  lies  between  Swaziland  and  the  sea.  This 
was  in  1894.  On  the  north  the  British  Government,  who  had  again  begun 
to  doubt  the  wisdom  of  annexing  huge  slices  of  Africa — though  the  tide  of 
English  sentiment  was  now  setting  strongly  for  expansion — refused  to 
occupy  the  country  which  lay  between  the  Limpopo  River  and  the  Zambesi. 
But  it  did  not  refuse  to  allow  one  of  its  enterprising  subjects  to  obtain  a 
charter  from  the  Crown  founding  a company  intended  to  acquire  land  and 
work  mines  in  that  country.  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes,  an  Oxford  graduate,  and 
son  of  an  English  country  clergyman,  who  had  made  a fortune  in  the  Kim- 
berley diamond  mines,  was  the  person  who  conceived  this  plan,  and  by  whom 
the  charter  creating  the  British  South  Africa  Compan}^  was  procured. 
Under  his  auspices,  a band  of  English  settlers  entered  the  unappropriated 
and  little-known  regions  of  Manicaland  and  Mashonaland,  and  in  1890 
set  up  a government  there.  They  were  just  too  quick  for  the  Boers,  who 
had  meditated  a trek  into  the  same  region,  where  there  is  plenty  of  good 
pasture.  Three  years  afterward  the  company  established  its  power  over 
the  wide  area  of  Matabeleland,  west  of  Mashonaland,  by  a war  with  the 
martial  tribe  of  Matabele,  whose  king,  Lo  Bengula,  fled  away  and  died. 
With  these  events  the  long  rivalry  for  the  possession  of  the  interior  between 
Dutch  and  English  came  to  an  end,  and  the  Transvaal  found  itself  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  British  territory,  except  on  the  northeast,  where  it 
abuts  upon  the  dominion  of  Portugal.  Those  dominions,  however,  it  could 
not  acquire  from  Portugal  even  if  Portugal  were  willing  to  sell  them, 
because  Britain  has  by  treaty  a right  of  pre-emption  of  the  district  around 
Delagoa  Bay,  the  harbor  which  both  the  Boers  and  the  English  would  be  so 
glad  to  obtain.  On  the  whole,  therefore,  the  English  came  oif  winners  ; for, 
whereas  the  Boers  got  only  Swaziland  and  part  of  Zululand,  their  rivals 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


327 


secured  the  vast  areas  of  Bechuanaland  on  the  west,  of  Mashoiialaiid  and 
Matabeleland  on  the  north. 

In  its  other  aim,  the  recovery  of  independence,  the  Transvaal  Govern- 
ment had  a nearly  complete  success.  In  1884  they  persuaded  the  late  Lord 
Derby,  then  Colonial  Secretary  in  the  British  Cabinet,  to  agree  to  a new 
convention,  whose  articles  supersede  those  of  the  convention  of  1881.  This 
later  instrument  sensibly  enlarges  the  rights  and  raises  the  international 
status  of  the  ‘‘  South  African  Republic  ” (a  title  now  conceded  to  what  had 
been  called  in  1881  the  “Transvaal  State”).  Under  the  convention  of 
1884,  the  British  Crown  retains  the  power  of  vetoing  any  treaties  which  the 
republic  may  make,  except  with  the  Orange  Free  State.  But  the  republic 
is  entitled  to  accredit  diplomatic  representatives  to  foreign  courts  ; the  pro- 
tection of  the  natives  is  no  longer  placed  under  the  care  of  a British  Resi- 
dent ; the  internal  administration  of  the  State  is  left  entirely  free  from  any 
sort  of  British  control.  The  republic  is,  in  fact,  with  the  important  ex- 
ception of  the  treaty-making  power,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  independ- 
ent. Most  people  in  England  now  blame  Lord  Derby,  who  was  certainly 
an  unlucky  Colonial  Minister,  for  making  this  convention.  But  his  error 
— and  it  was  an  error — would  have  signified  comparatively  little  but  for  the 
event  which  occurred  immediately  after  it  was  committed.  The  convention 
was  signed  in  1884.  In  1885  the  auriferous  conglomerate  beds  of  the  Wit- 
watersrand  were  discovered  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Transvaal.  They 
form  not  only  the  richest  gold  field  in  the  world,  but  a gold  field  unlike  any 
other  in  giving  a fairly  uniform  and  certain  yield  cf  so  much  gold,  rather 
greater  in  some  beds,  rather  less  in  others,  to  the  ton  of  ore.  Until  this 
discovery,  the  Transvaal  had  been,  though  a few  gold  reefs  were  being 
worked  in  the  mountains  on  its  eastern  border,  really  a vast  pastoral  wilder- 
ness, very  poor,  and  with  only  about  one  and  a half  white  inhabitants  to 
the  square  mile,  most  of  them  semi-nomad  ranchmen.  It  was  a country 
somewhat  like  New  Mexico,  though  the  population  was  smaller  and  the 
pasture  thinner.  Now  a stream  of  immigrants  from  the  rest  of  South 
Africa,  from  Europe,  from  Australia,  and  from  North  America,  began  to 
rush  in,  so  that  within  a few  years  the  white  population  more  than  trebled. 

The  first  result  of  this  great  and  sudden  change  was  to  enrich  those 
few  of  the  Boer  farmers  who  had  owned  and  who  now  promptly  sold  the 
land  where  the  gold  beds  were  worked,  and  also  to  benefit  a somewhat 
larger  number  by  creating  a market  for  agricultural  produce.  The  revenue 
of  the  State,  which  had  been  trifling,  began  to  rise  rapidly.  This  was 
so  far  good.  But  the  Government  soon  bethought  themselves  that  the  new- 


328 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


comers  (most  of  whom  were  British),  when  they  had  become  citizens  and 
began  to  cast  their  votes,  would  constitute  a large  section,  and  before  long 
a majority,  of  the  voters.  They  would  then  be  able,  by  electing  persons 
like  themselves  to  the  Assembly  and  to  the  executive  offices  of  the  State,  to 
revolutionize  it  completely,  swamping  the  old  citizens,  getting  rid  of  the 
old-fashioned  Boer  ways — in  fact,  making  the  country  an  English  instead  of 
a Dutch  country.  From  this  prospect  they  recoiled  in  horror.  It  was  not 
in  order  to  be  overrun  at  last  by  a crowd  of  English,  Australian,  and  Ameri- 
can miners,  employed  by  capitalists  mostly  of  Jewish  extraction,  that  they 
or  their  fathers  had  trekked  out  of  Cape  Colony,  fought  and  vanquished 
the  hosts  of  heathen  Kafirs,  founded  their  own  republic,  and  thrown  off  b}^ 
their  valor  the  yoke  which  England  had  for  four  years  laid  upon  them.  To 
keep  out  the  immigrants  and  forbid  the  working  of  the  mines  might  be 
difficult,  and  this  course  would,  moreover,  sacrifice  the  growing  revenue 
that  was'  raised  from  the  mines.  The^q  therefore,  resolved  to  keep  the 
immigrants,  but  to  exclude  them,  at  least  for  a good  while  to  come,  from 
exerting  political  power.  This  was  done  by  lengthening  the  period  of  resi- 
dence and  other  formalities  prescribed  for  the  acquisition  of  burgher  rights 
and  therewith  of  the  electoral  franchise. 

The  histoiy  of  modern  Egypt  began  with  the  foundation  of  the  semi- 
feudal  dynasty  of  the  reigning  house  by  Mehemet  Ali  in  i8ii.  For  three 
centuries  Egypt  had  been  under  the  rule  of  the  Sultans  of  Turkey,  and  had 
received  its  governors  from  Constantinople.  Yet  even  before  the  rise  of 
Mehemet  Ali,  the  authority  of  the  Sultans  in  the  land  of  the  Nile  was 
not  absolute.  It  had  always  been  more  or  less  modified  by  the  great 
Egyptian  military  caste,  which,  while  conceding  the  feudal  dependence  of 
Egypt  on  Turkey,  maintained  the  government  of  the  Manilonk  chiefs. 
The  virtual  ruler  of  Egypt  was  a native  Be^q  chosen  by  Be3^s.  It  was  he 
who  levied  taxes,  kept  up  a military  force,  coined  money,  and  performed 
other  acts  of  local  sovereignty.  The  principal  visible  sign  of  Turkish 
ascendancy  appeared  in  the  annual  tribute  which  was  paid  by  Egypt  into 
the  coffers  of  the  Sultan. 

Revolts  to  throw  off  the  Turkish  yoke  altogether  took  place  before 
that  which,  under  Mehemet  Ali,  conferred  upon  Eg3qDt  a virtual  though 
not  as  yet  an  acknowledged  independence.  These  former  revolts  had  not 
prevailed ; but  the  hold  of  the  Sultans  had  always  been  too  weak  to  enable 
them  to  punish  or  degrade  the  revolting  Beys.  The  invasion  of  Egypt  by 
Napoleon  well-nigh  destroyed  all  semblance  of  Turkish  authority  on  the 
Nile,  which  was  only  restored  by  the  subsequent  naval  triumphs  of  Eng- 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


329 


land — always,  for  her  own  reasons,  the  prop  and  protector  of  the  Turk. 
Yet  even  after  Nelson  had  turned  the  tide  of  war  in  the  IMediterranean  at 
Trafalgar,  the  Beys  were  strong  enough  to  depose,  and  even  on  one  occa- 
sion to  execute,  the  viceroys  sent  by  the  Sultan  to  rule  over  his  restless 
dependency. 

Meheinet  Ali,  who  in  the  history  of  Eastern  politics  holds  a rank  of  the 
first  magnitude  as  a warrior  and  a statesman,  and  to  whose  genius  Egypt 
owes  at  least  a far  higher  position  among  the  nations  than  at  any  time  since 
the  time  of  her  ancient  splendor  and  power,  was  by  birth  a Macedonian,  and 
by  profession  a soldier  in  the  armies  of  the  Sultan.  He  was  as  much  a for- 
eigner in  Egypt  as  any  Turkish  vicero}^  At  the  age  of  thirty-seven  he 
had  alread}^  won  high  military  rank  by  reason  of  his  extraordinary  capacity, 
and  found  himself  holding  an  important  command  in  Egypt.  Although  he 
had  fought  vigorously  against  the  disloyal  Beys,  he  contrived  to  win  the 
respect  and  even  the  affection  of  the  Egyptians.  Suddenly  he  was  pro- 
claimed Viceroy  by  the  native  chiefs  at  Cairo ; and  so  feeble  at  this  time 
was  the  Sultan’s  grasp  on  Egypt  that  he  actually  withdrew  his  own  Vice- 
ro}^  and  acknowledged  Meheinet  Ali  in  his  stead. 

No  sooner  did  Meheinet  Ali  find  himself  in  power  than  he  set  about 
building  up  a strong  nationality.  He  suppressed  the  military  aristocracy 
of  the  Mamlouks,  which  struggled  against  his  promotion ; he  reorganized 
the  Egyptian  forces;  he  conquered  Syria;  and  he  compelled  Turkey  to 
acknowledge  by  treaty  his  sovereignty,  subject  to  feudal  tribute,  over  Egypt 
and  its  recent  acquisitions.  So  aggressive,  indeed,  became  Mehemet  Ali’s 
military  aspirations  that  he  is  believed  to  have  cherished  an  ambition  to 
conquer  European  Turkey  itself. 

Mehemet  Ali  gained  an  important  advantage  from  international 
interference.  By  a treaty,  of  which  the  signatories  were  Turke^q 
England,  Russia,  and  Austria,  concluded  in  1840,  his  right  to  Egyptian 
sovereignty  was  acknowledged,  and  this  was  declared  hereditary"  in  his 
family.  The  principal  restrictions  imposed  by  this  treaty  on  the  Vice- 
roy were,  that  he  should  pay  a large  annual  tribute  to  the  Porte  ; that  his 
army  should  not  be  increased  beyond  a certain  stated  limit ; and  that  he 
should  hold  no  direct  diplomatic  relations  with  other  Powers.  Mehemet 
Ali  was  wise  and  shrewd  enough  to  accept  this  settlement  in  good  faith. 
He  had  won  the  sanction  of  the  great  Powers  to  his  viceregal  powers  ; he  had 
shown  the  Sultan  that  his  military  prowess  was  not  to  be  despised  ; and  he 
had  long  held  in  check  all  serious  opposition  to  his  rule  among  the  Egyp- 
tians  themselves. 


330 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


He  now  directed  his  great  abilities  exclusively  to  the  reorganization  of 
Egypt  as  a State,  and  here  his  remarkable  administrative  genius  found 
abundant  scope.  The  system  of  Egyptian  government  which  exists  to-day 
was  in  the  main  Mehemet  Ali’s  creation  and  handiwork ; and,  debased  as 
Egypt  is  beneath  the  autocratic  control  of  the  foreigner,  there  are  many 
traces  through  its  present  administrative  constitution  of  a master  hand  in 
statecraft.  It  is  declared,  on  high  authority,  to  be  “ incomparably  the  most 
civilized  and  efficient  of  existing  Mussulman  governments.”  Maii}^  abuses 
of  centuries’  growth  and  standing  were  abolished  ; order  was  imparted  to 
the  official  services  ; education  was  somewhat  promoted ; the  finances  were 
placed  on  a sounder  basis,  and  the  industries  of  Egypt  were  diligently 
fostered  by  this  able  sovereign. 

The  successful  construction  of  the  Suez  Canal  materially  modified  the 
politics  of  Europe,  changed  both  the  internal  and  the  external  status  of 
Egypt,  and  gave  a new  channel  of  transit  to  the  commerce  between  Europe 
and  Asia.  It  substituted  for  the  long  water-way  around  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  one  which  reduced  the  distance  between  Europe  and  Asia  by 
about  one-half.  That  such  a communication  should  be  actually  established 
was  a matter  of  very  grave  political  moment  to  several  of  the  European 
Powers.  It  lessened  the  military  as  well  as  the  commercial  route  to  India, 
and  this  was  a matter  of  high  importance  to  England.  The  same  fact 
caused  Russia  to  look  with  jealous  eye  upon  its  completion.  Having  been 
constructed,  moreover,  by  a French  company,  and  to  a large  extent  by 
French  capital,  it  was  an  enterprise  in  which  France  had  an  immediate 
concern. 

The  project  of  M.  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps  to  pierce  the  Isthmus  of  Suez 
with  a canal,  thus  joining  the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean  to  those  of  the 
Red  Sea,  was  b}^  no  means  the  first  which  had  been  conceived  with  that  end 
in  view.  Far  back  in  the  time  of  the  Pharaohs  (about  1400  B.  C.)  a canal 
fifty-seven  miles  long  is  said  to  have  been  built  on  the  isthmus.  Darius 
made  a similar  attempt  to  unite  the  two  seas,  and  it  seems  to  be  proved  that 
a complete  canal  actually  existed  and  was  used  some  three  centuries  before 
Christ.  The  first  Napoleon  caused  a survey  of  the  isthmus  to  be  made  while 
he  was  in  possession  of  Egypt ; and  later  Mehemet  Ali  seriousl}^  contem- 
plated the  construction  of  a canal.  But  all  these  projects  proved  abortive 
until  M.  de  Lesseps  matured  the  scheme  which,  amid  many  formidable 
obstacles  and  much  ridicule,  he  at  last  carried  to  successful  completion. 

Ferdinand  de  Lesseps,  when  quite  a ^^oung  man,  was  a clerk  in  the 
French  consulate  at  Cairo.  As  far  back  as  1830  he  had  begun  to  brood  over 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


331 


the  idea  that  a canal  might  be  made,  and  to  picture  to  himself  the  vast  in- 
fluence that  such  a canal  could  not  fail  to  have  on  the  relations  and 
destiny  of  nations.  This  dream  occupied  his  mind  and  his  studies  for  a 
quarter  of  a century.  It  was  not  until  1854,  however,  that  Lesseps  had 
matured  his  plan,  and  was  ready  to  broach  it  to  the  Egyptian  ruler.  Said 
Pasha  was  then  reigning,  and  from  the  first  looked  with  a certain  degree  of 
favor  on  Lesseps’  project.  He  gave  him  a preliminaiy  concession  for  a 
canal  across  the  isthmus,  and  two  years  later  made  this  concession  a final 
one.  Lesseps,  knowing  how  deeply  interested  England  must  be  in  such  a 
water-way  if  completed,  applied  to  Lord  Palmerston,  then  Prime  Minister, 
for  pecuniary  aid  in  prosecuting  the  scheme.  Palmerston  onl}^  laughed  him 
to  scorn,  declared  the  project  impossible,  and  vigorously  opposed  Lesseps’ 
operations. 

The  enthusiastic  engineer  was  not  to  be  dismayed  by  such  a rebuff. 
Turning  to  his  own  country,  Lesseps  received  prompt  and  substantial  en- 
couragement. A company  to  construct  the  canal  was  formed  with  a capital 
of  $40,000,000,  in  shares  of  $100,  more  than  half  of  which  was  speedily 
taken  up,  for  the  most  part  in  France.  In  i860,  Said  Pasha,  convinced  that 
the  canal  would  be  a great  thing  for  Egypt,  assumed  all  the  shares  yet 
unsold,  which  amounted  to  $17,500,000.  Turkey,  as  the  suzerain  of  Egypt, 
forbade  the  undertaking;  but  it  is  a striking  evidence  of  how  feeble  Turkish 
power  had  become  in  the  land  of  the  Nile,  that  no  attention  was  paid  to  the 
Sultan’s  prohibition,  and  that  Lesseps  pursued  his  undertaking  just  as 
if  no  such  potentate  as  the  Sultan  existed. 

Ground  was  broken  on  the  Suez  Canal  on  the  25th  of  April,  1859,  near 
the  site  where  the  busy  town  of  Port  Said  (named  in  honor  of  Said  Pasha) 
has  since  grown  up.  A large  part  of  the  workmen  were  Egyptian  fellahs, 
who  had  been  subject  to  a forced  conscription,  called  the  corvee^  and  were 
paid  cheap  wages  by  the  company.  Owing  to  the  interference  of  the  Eng- 
lish Government  this  supply  of  native  vrorkmen  was  withdrawn  just  as  the 
canal  was  getting  fairly  under  way.  The  English  also  persuaded  Ismail 
that  the  company,  under  the  concessions  made  to  it,  would  be  too  powerful 
from  a political  point  of  view.  The  issue  of  the  differences  which  thus 
arose  between  the  company  and  the  Egyptian  Government  was  that  all  mat- 
ters of  disagreement  were  referred  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III. 

The  Emperor  awarded  the  company  an  indemnity  of  $17,500,000,  to  be 
paid  by  Egypt  for  the  loss  of  the  corvee^  for  the  withdrawal  of  certain  con- 
cessions of  land,  and  for  the  resumption  of  the  fresh-water  canal.  This 
added  capital  enabled  the  company  to  steadily  pursue  its  great  project.  In 


332 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


1864,  however,  Lesseps  was  obliged  to  negotiate  a loan  founded  on  lottery 
drawings,  to  the  amount  of  $33,330,000.  A still  further  loan  was  contracted 
five  years  later  of  $6,000,000,  and  Egypt  paid  the  company  $6,000,000  more 
for  the  giving  up  of  all  rights  on  the  fresh-water  canal.  The  total  capital  of 
the  company  had  now  grown  to  $85,000,000  ; and  this  sum  was  increased 
later  to  $95,000,000.  The  construction  of  the  canal  occupied  a little  more 
than  ten  years  ; and  its  completion  w^as  celebrated  in  November,  1869,  by 
imposing  fetes  and  ceremonies,  at  which  the  Empress  of  the  French  and 
many  European  notabilities  assisted. 

The  principal  industry  of  Egypt  is  and  has  been  for  many  years  the 
cultivation  of  the  land  in  what  is  called  the  Delta,  and  along  the  banks  of 
the  Nile.  The  Delta  is  an  irregular  triangle,  enclosed  between  the  two 
branches  of  the  Nile  which  flow  into  the  Mediterranean.  Its  base  is  about 
eighty  miles  in  length,  and  its  area  about  two  thousand  square  miles.  The 
Delta  is  fertile  and  almost  wholly  arable.  The  cultivable  land  above  it, 
from  Cairo  as  far  as  Assouan,  has  an  average  width,  including  both  banks 
of  the  river  Nile,  of  six  miles,  being  wider  at  some  points  and  narrower  at 
others.  Of  course  the  limit  of  this  arable  land  on  either  side  is  the  line  up 
to  which  the  Nile  overflows  its  banks  in  the  spring.  On  either  side  the 
valley  is  shut  in  from  the  desert  regions  beyond  by  ranges  of  hills  and 
mountains. 

For  many  years  after  Mehemet  Ali’s  death  no  effort  was  made  b}^  the 
Egyptian  rulers  to  extend  their  dominions  in  the  Soudan.  Ismail  Pasha, 
however,  formed  a vast  scheme  of  aggrandizement,  in  which  he  was  encour- 
aged by  the  English  in  the  hope  that  thereby  the  hideous  slave  trade  of  the 
upper  Nile  might  be  restricted,  if  not  altogether  crushed  out.  Ismail  made 
the  conquest  of  Darfour  in  1875,  and  thereby  added  a large  and,  for  the  most 
part,  fruitful  province  to  his  kingdom.  Darfour  produces  wheat,  rice,  maize, 
and  tobacco  in  abundance,  and  some  cotton.  It  has  mines  of  copper  'and 
iron,  and  is  a prosperous  cattle-raising  country.  It  has  a thriving  trade 
with  Egypt  and  Arabia  in  ivory,  ostrich  feathers,  hides,  and,  it  is  unpleasant 
to  add,  in  slaves.  But  the  control  of  the  Egyptian  Khedives  over  the 
Soudan  was  never  complete.  It  could  only  be  maintained  in  the  settled 
towns  and  at  the  isolated  garrison  posts.  It  could  not  reach  out  over  the 
deserts  and  reduce  the  vast,  wandering,  barbarous,  swarming  Arabs  and 
negroes  to  submission.  Neither  Baker  nor  Gordon  could  suppress,  or  more 
than  temporarily  limit,  the  slave  trade. 

The  principal  fortress  towns  of  the  Soudan  which  have  been  garrisoned 
by  Egyptian  troops,  and  from  which  Eg3q3tian  governors  have  tried  to 


ENGLISH  TROGBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


as: 


impose  the  decrees  of  Cairo,  are  Kliartoiiiii,  Doiigola,  Berber,  Sheiidy,  Seii- 
iiaar,  all  of  which  are  on  the  upper  Nile,  and  all  except  Sennaar  below  the 
junction  of  the  two  branches  ; Kassala,  which  stands  not  far  from  the  Abys- 
sinian frontier,  near  the  Akbara — the  largest  affluent  of  the  Nile,  which 
empties  into  it  below  Khartoum  ; and  Suakin,  a seaport  on  the  Red  Sea^ 
which  is  two  hundred  and  forty  miles  from  Berber,  the  nearest  point  to 
Suakin  on  the  Nile.  An  abortive  attempt  was  made  by  Ismail  to  construct 
a railway  up  the  valle}^  of  the  Nile  from  Cairo  to  Khartoum ; but  this  rail- 
wa}^  up  to  the  present  time  has  only  been  completed  for  about  two  hundred 
miles  to  Siout,  the  distance  from  Cairo  to  Khartoum  being  about  twelve 
hundred  miles. 

Let  us  take  up  the  narration  of  the  events  which  have  followed  the 
overthrow  of  Arabi  Pasha  by  the  English  and  the  consequent  strengthening 
of  the  English  hold  on  Egypt.  Arabi’s  defeat  and  capture  left  Egypt,  indeed, 
completely  at  the  mercy  of  England.  With  him  the  flower  of  the  Egyptian 
army  had  been  overthrown  and  dispersed  ; and  it  had  become  necessary 
that  the  Khedive’s  dominions  should  be  protected  by  English  troops. 

Early  in  the  ninth' decade  a startling  rumor  crept  through  the  Moham- 
medan populations  of  Africa  and  Arabia  that  a man  claiming  to  be  the  later 
Messiah  of  Islam,  the  successor  of  Mohammed,  the  chief  of  a new  crusade, 
had  made  his  appearance  south  of  the  Nubian  desert.  What  gave  greater 
importance  to  the  rumor  was,  that  for  generations  there  has  floated  in  the 
East  a saying  that  in  the  latter  part  of  this  centur}^  a new  prophet  would 
arise ; would  gather  to  him  the  scattered  forces  of  the  faithful ; and  would 
restore  the  Moslem  faith  and  power  to  their  ancient  height.  The  appear- 
ance of  the  new  self-styled  ‘‘  Mahdi  ” was  at  first  discredited.  At  Constan- 
tinople and  at  Mecca  the  news  was  received  with  indifference  and  contempt. 
Many  an  impostor  has  thus  attempted  to  foist  himself  with  prophetic 
authority  on  Islam,  only  to  be  overwhelmed  with  disaster  and  to  be  driven 
into  obscurity  and  disgrace.  But  the  stories  of  the  latest  Mahdi  kept  com- 
ing from  the  barbarous  regions  of  the  upper  Soudan.  It  was  said  that  a 
large  though  savage  army  had  flocked  to  his  standard  ; that  the  tribes  on 
the  banks  of  the  Blue  and  the  White  Nile  were  giving  in  their  allegiance 
to  him  ; and  that  the  disaffection  which  he  had  stirred  up  was  spreading 
even  among  the  warlike  Bedouin  between  the  Nile  and  the  Red  Sea.  Let 
Mr.  Towle  tell  the  story  : 

‘‘  The  undoubted  existence  and  the  increasing  strength  of  the  Mahdi 
could  at  last  no  longer  be  ignored  at  the  centres  of  Mohammedan  authorit\'. 
A serious  alarm  seized  the  court  of  the  Sultan-Caliph,  and  grave  councils 


334 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


were  held  in  the  great  temple  at  Mecca.  Then  the  Grand  Cherif  of  Mecca, 
the  highest  of  the  high-priests  of  Islam,  issued  his  proclamation  declaring 
the  new  claimant  to  be  an  impostor,  and  warning  the  faithful  to  avoid  his 
standard  and  to  resist  his  pretensions.  It  was  supposed  that  this  decree 
would  at  once  act  on  the  superstitious  minds  of  the  African  Mohammedans, 
and  that  the  self-claimed  Mahdi  would  be  deserted  and,  like  previous  im- 
postors, disappear.  But  this  result  did  not  follow.  The  Cherif’s  fulmina- 
tion  did  not  serve  in  the  least  to  check  the  growth  of  the  Mahdi’s  cause. 
Gradually  his  following  increased ; and  now,  assuming  the  militant  role  of 
Mohammed,  he  began  an  aggressive  campaign.  He  set  himself  to  the  task 
first  of  wresting  the  Soudan  from  the  rule  of  Egypt ; and  did  not  hesitate  to 
proclaim  that  he  intended  to  pursue  the  conquest  of  all  the  African  Moham- 
medan States. 

“The  Mahdi’s  career  seems  to  have  been  attended  from  the  first  with 
almost  unvarying  good-fortune.  More  than  one  Egyptian  stronghold 
fell  into  the  hands  of  his  rabble  and  fanatic  horde.  At  last  the  Egyptian 
Khedive,  miserable  as  his  situation  was,  had  no  alternative  but  to  attempt 
the  suppression  of  this  fresh  revolt  against  his  authority.  The  defeat  of 
Arabi  Pasha  at  Tel-el-Kebir  had  deprived  the  Khedive  of  his  best  troops, 
and  he  was  forced  to  send  an  inferior  armament  against  the  rebellious 
prophet.  A force  of  ten  thousand  Egyptians  and  Nubians,  under  command 
of  Hicks  Pasha,  an  Englishman,  marched  against  the  Mahdi,  who  was 
already  threatening  the  fortresses  of  the  upper  Nile.  The  hostile  armies 
met  at  El  Obeid,  west  of  the  White  Nile.  The  encounter  was  short  and 
savage.  Its  appalling  result  was,  that  Hicks  Pasha  and  his  force  were  not 
only  overwhelmingly  defeated,  but  were  almost  to  a man  destroyed  on  the 
field  of  battle  by  the  enraged  legions  of  the  prophet. 

“All  Europe  and  the  East  shuddered  at  this  frightful  disaster,  which  was 
a terrific  blow  at  the  rule  of  the  Khedive.  It  also  shook  the  Sultan’s  throne, 
and  carried  disma}^  to  the  holy  places  of  Mecca.  The  prestige  of  the  Mahdi 
was  immensely  increased  by  his  success.  It  fell  with  telling  effect  upon  the 
ears  and  imagination  of  the  Mohammedan  races.  Victory  seemed  to  give 
sanction  to  the  Mahdi’s  claim.  It  was  said  that  his  army  at  El  Obeid  num- 
bered at  least  two  hundred  thousand  men,  composed  of  Dervishes,  Bedouin, 
mulattoes,  and  some  regular  troops  supplied  with  fire-arms.  Of  course  his 
followers  rapidly  increased  after  the  overthrow  of  Hicks  Pasha’s  army  ; and 
now  the  Mahdi  seriously  threatened  Khartoum  and  the  Egyptian  fortresses 
protecting  the  Soudan  at  Dongola,  Berber,  Sennaar,  and  other  places  be- 
tween the  upper  Nile  and  the  Red  Sea. 


EXGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


S35 


The  Malidi’s  name  was  Moliainmed  Achmet.  He  was  a native  of  the 
province  of  Dongola,  a fortified  town  on  the  Nile  between  the  third  and 
fourth  cataracts,  and  bordering  upon  the  great  Nubian  desert.  He  was  said 
to  be  of  pure  Arab  blood ; and  this  was  fortiinate  for  him,  since  none  but  an 
Arab  could  ever  hope  to  impose  a prophetic  authority  upon  Islam.  His 
grandfather  was  a Moslem  priest.  His  father,  Abdullah,  was  a carpenter. 
Early  in  the  Mahdi’s  boyhood  the  family  moved  to  vShendy,  not  far  from 
Berber.  Here  the  young  Achmet  was  apprenticed  to  his  uncle,  a boatman. 
This  uncle  having  one  day  beaten  him,  the  boy  ran  away  to  Khartoum, 
where  he  entered  a free  school  kept  by  a fakir  (learned  man,  head  of  a sect 
of  Dervishes).  Achmet  studied  hard,  and  especially  absorbed  himself  in 
learning  the  doctrines  of  Mohammedanism  as  taught  by  the  sheik  of  the 
shrine  of  Hoggiali.  He  then  removed  to  a similar  school  near  Berber, 
attached  to  another  shrine  much  reverenced  by  the  natives.  After  passing 
some  time  at  this  and  other  schools,  Achmet  was  himself  ordained  as  a 
sheik,  at  a village  called  Aradup,  in  the  year  1870,  and  he  at  once  took  up 
his  abode  in  this  sacred  capacity  on  the  island  of  Abba,  in  the  White  Nile. 

‘‘  It  was  at  Abba  that  Achmet  entered  upon  those  practices  and  began,  no 
doubt,  to  prepare  himself  for  that  mission  which  have  since  attracted  to  him 
the  allegiance  of  such  formidable  numbers  of  Mohammedans.  He  dug  a 
deep  cave  on  the  island,  and  made  it  a habit  to  retire  fo^  prayer  and  con- 
templation into  its  darkest  recesses.  There  he  would  repeat  for  hours  to- 
gether one  of  the  names  of  the  Deity,  which  exercise  was  accompanied  b}" 
fasting,  the  burning  of  incense,  and  attitudes  of  abject  humility.  His  re- 
nown as  a man  of  saintly  character  spread  far  and  wide.  He  grew  rich  on 
the  offerings  of  the  pious,  and  married  several  wives,  being  ?^lways  careful 
to  choose  them  from  influential  and  wealthy  Arab  families. 

‘‘At  last,  in  1881,  he  openly  announced  himself  to  be  the  Mahdi  fore- 
told by  Mohammed,  whose  advent  had  been  predicted  for  that  very  year. 
He  sent  messages  to  the  sheiks  and  fakirs  round  about,  declaring  that  he 
had  a divine  mission  to  reform  Islam  ; to  establish  a universal  equalit}^,  a 
universal  law,  a universal  religion,  and  a community  of  goods ; and  to 
destroy  all — whether  Mohammedan  or  Christian — who  refused  to  believe 
him  and  to  accept  him  as  a true  prophet.  Just  as  in  Christianity,  Christ 
superseded  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  so  the  Mahdi  claims  to  have  been  sent 
by  Allah  to  renew  the  old  covenant  of  God  with  man.  By  these  bold  asser- 
tions the  Mahdi  soon  secured  a hearing,  then  a following.  Man}^  of  the 
sheiks  who  had  long  observed  his  austere  piet}^  were  easily  persuaded  to  be- 
lieve him  inspired,  and  adopted  his  cause  with  Oriental  ardor  and  enthusiasm. 


336 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


H e soon  found  himself  accepted,  not  only  by  large  numbers  of  the  popula- 
tion in  the  regions  of  the  Blue  and  the  White  Nile,  but  even  among  the  wan- 
dering tribes  of  the  Nubian  and  Soudan  deserts. 

“ The  Mahdi  was  fortunate  in  being  able  to  work  upon  the  imagination 
of  the  races  whom  he  sought  to  win,  by  certain  circumstances  and  coinci- 
dences which  seemed  to  give  him  a resemblance  to  the  prophet  Mohammed. 
These  the  ignorant  and  credulous  Arabs  were  not  slow  to  magnify  into- 
striking  proofs  of  the  Mahdi’s  divine  mission.  When  they  heard  that  he 
bore  upon  his  face  certain  peculiar  marks  s^mibolical  of  a true  prophetic 
character ; that  there  was  a difference  in  the  length  of  his  arms  and  also  in 
the  color  of  his  eyes — defects  which  appertained  to  the  great  Mohammed 
himself;  that  not  only  was  his  name,  but  that  of  his  parents,  Mohammed, 
their  enthusiasm  was  aroused  and  their  faith  became  fixed.  He  could  assert 
that,  like  the  great  prophet,  he  had  been  forced  to  fly  for  his  life  when  he 
put  forth  his  startling  claim  ; and  that,  again,  like  the  founder  of  Islam,  he 
had  been  able,  in  spite  of  repeated  obstacles,  to  explain  the  causes  of  his  ill- 
fortune,  and  to  keep  his  followers  with  him  in  adversit}^  as  well  as  in 
victory. 

“ These  things  he  said  he  had  accomplished  by  timely  revelations  from 
Allah.  Thus  it  was  that  he  carried  his  cause  through  the  Soudan,  and 
made  himself  reverenced  as  one  who  was  in  constant  communion  with 
heaven,  and  who  had  acquired  the  exalted  power  of  working  miracles.  The 
Mahdi’s  example  was  followed  by  other  fakirs  in  the  Soudan,  who  rose  to 
rival  his  pretensions  and  to  claim  the  divine  office  of  prophet  for  themselves. 
No  sooner,  however,  did  such  rivalry  rear  its  head  than  the  Mahdi  assailed 
his  foe,  and  with  all  the  savage  and  pitiless  ferocity  of  Mohammed  himself 
overcame  him  and  crushed  him  and  his  followers  to  the  earth. 

Those  who  have  seen  this  remarkable  man  describe  him  as  tall,  slim, 
straight,  with  the  true  Arab  creamy  complexion,  black  hair  cut  close  to  the 
skull,  and  a black  beard  descending  to  a point  after  the  iVrab  fashion.  His 
eyes  were  dark  and  piercing,  one  eye  being  black  and  the  other  brown. 
His  manner  was  stern,  serious,  and  often  absent  and  distraught,  as  if  in 
deep  contemplation.  He  was  very  reticent,  giving  his  orders  in  few  words, 
and  was  active  and  alert  in  all  his  proceedings.  The  Mahdi  proved  himselt 
a man  of  extraordinary  ability.  He  was  a warrior  of  the  fierce,  impetuous, 
obstinate  Arab  type.  He  kindled  to  fiery  ardor  on  the  battle-field.  He  was 
yet  cautious  and  adroit  as  a strategist.  His  career  showed  him  to  be  cun- 
ning and  far-seeing.  He  seems  to  have  maintained  a wonderful  efficiency 
of  military  organization  among  the  barbarians  who  so  eagerly  followed  his 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


337 


standard,  and  to  have  had  the  abilit}’  to  create  an  arni}^  out  of  the  most  un- 
promising materials.  In  the  midst  of  warlike  conflict  he  maintained  his 
religious  pretensions  and  practices.  He  spent  much  time  in  solitude, 
prayer,  fasting,  and  silent  contemplation.  He  professed  to  seek  daily  the 
counsels  and  commands  of  Allah.  He  claimed  to  communicate  with  the 
spirit  of  Mohammed,  and  to  receive  from  the  great  prophet  the  inspiration 
•of  his  warlike  movements. 

Of  imposing  personal  appearance,  he  sustained  the  faith  and  loyalty 
of  liis  followers  wherever  he  himself  was  present  and  in  their  sight.  He 
made  no  secret  of  his  design  to  reconquer  Islam,  to  sweep  the  Christians  from 
Egypt,  Turkey,  Tunis,  Algiers,  and  even  from  India  and  Turkistan.  He 
aimed  to  refound  Islam  and  to  reform  it.  His  methods,  like  those  of  the 
great  prophet,  were  not  only  militant  but  relentless.  Massacre  and  desola- 
tion marked  the  places  across  which  the  tornado  of  his  barbaric  hordes  had 
swept.  By  fire  and  sword  the  old  foundations  of  Islam  were  to  be  renewed. 
His  exploits  made  him,  for  the  time  at  least,  well-nigh  the  absolute  master 
of  the  Soudan.  The  sudden  and  mysterious  death  of  the  Mahdi,  a few 
months  after  his  many  triumphs  had  culminated  in  the  capture  of  Khartoum 
and  the  immolation  of  Gordon,  abruptly  cut  short  a career  the  conquests  and 
conversions  of  which  could  not  have  easily  been  forecast. 

“ While  the  revolt  of  the  Mahdi  wore  from  the  beginning  a religious 
aspect,  while  his  first  claim  to  attention  and  support  was  derived  from  his 
assumption  of  prophecy,  the  movement  of  which  he  took  the  lead  soon 
became  political  in  its  objects.  It  was  the  long  misrule  of  Egypt  in  the 
Soudan,  a misrule  marked  by  cruelty,  robbery,  and  oppression,  which  rallied 
to  him  his  rude  armies  of  Arab  and  negro  barbarians.  The  dominion  of 
Egypt  had  become  simply  intolerable.  The  rebellion  of  Arabi  Pasha, 
though  unsuccessful,  aroused  a kindred  spirit  of  resistance  among  the  war- 
like tribes  of  the  deserts  and  the  upper  Nile  ; and  the  Mahdi,  with  his  pro- 
phetic pretensions,  came  in  the  nick  of  time  to  lend  superstitious  zeal  and 
military  ability  to  the  movement. 

“ Of  the  numbers  who  flocked  to  the  Mahdi’s  standard,  and  who  after- 
ward followed  him  in  his  remarkable  career,  no  estimate  can  be  made.  It 
is  certain  that  his  forces  varied  greatly  with  the  changing  phases  of  the 
war.  One  tribe  deserted  him,  while  another  promptl}^  filled  the  gap  after 
having  opposed  his  progress.  A decisive  success  probably  always  had  the 
effect  of  swelling  his  ranks.  It  is  very  likely  that  the  conjecture  of  a re- 
cent writer  that  in  all  the  IMahdi’s  forces  there  had  been  two  hundred  thou- 
sand warriors  at  one  time  is  approximate!}"  accurate.  The  Mahdi  succeeded 


338 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


in  capturing  several  of  the  Egyptian  garrisons  before  the  English  came  to 
oppose  his  further  advance ; and,  as  fast  as  a garrison  was  taken,  it  was 
massacred  by  the  Mahdi’s  ruthless  followers. 

“ The  first  step  taken  by  England,  when  it  had  become  apparent  that  the 
revolt  of  the  Soudan  was  assuming  dangerous  proportions,  was  to  advise  the 
Khedive,  in  a tone  which  was  virtually  a command,  to  abandon  the  Soudan 
altogether,  to  withdraw  his  garrisons,  if  possible,  and  leave  the  destinies  of 
the  country  to*  its  own  people.  To  this  the  Khedive  assented.  But  it  soon 
became  apparent  that  the  Egyptian  Government  was  too  weak  to  attempt 
the  withdrawal  of  the  garrisons,  and  England  was  forced,  very  much  against 
her  will,  to  follow  up  the  advice  given  to  the  Khedive  by  undertaking  the 
relief  of  the  garrisons  herself. 

‘‘  This  decision  was  hastened  by  an  event  which  took  place  near  Suakin. 
An  Egyptian  force  under  Valentine  Baker  was  overwhelming!}^  defeated  in 
its  attempt  to  relieve  the  garrison  of  Sinkat,  a few  miles  inland,  by  Osman 
Digna,  one  of  the  Mahdi’s  generals.  Osman  Digna,  who  afterward  played 
a notable  part  in  the  war,  was  said  to  be  a Frenchman  by  birth,  to  have 
been  educated  in  the  military  schools  at  Cairo,  and  to  have  become  a Mus- 
sulman in  early  youth.  After  the  defeat  of  Baker,  Osman  Digna  threatened 
Suakin  itself  with  an  Arab  force  estimated  at  not  less  than  thirty  thousand 
men.  An  English  expedition,  together  with  a naval  force,  was  at  once 
dispatched  to  the  Red  Sea.  But  before  it  could  act  effectively  the  Egyptian 
garrisons  at  Sinkat  and  Tokar  had  yielded  to  the  enemy,  and  were  for  the 
most  part  massacred. 

“ The  English,  under  General  Graham,  now  entered  upon  a vigorous 
campaign  against  Osman  Digna.  It  was  recognized  that  in  his  destruction 
only  lay  the  safety  of  Suakin,  if  not  that  of  all  the  garrisons  in  the  northern 
Soudan..  Osman’s  Arabs  swarmed  in  the  hills  westward  of  Suakin  ; and 
the  English  advanced  to  confront  him  on  the  Suakin-Berber  road.  Graham 
inflicted  two  crushing  defeats  on  the  rebel  chief  at  Teb  and  Tamai,  and  it 
seemed  for  a while  as  if  Osman’s  military  power  was  completely  broken. 
Public  opinion  in  England  urged  at  this  juncture  that  a part,  at  least,  of 
Graham’s  force  should  continue  its  march  across  the  desert  to  Berber,  and 
thus  relieve  not  only  Berber  but  Khartoum.  But,  to  the  general  astonish- 
ment, Graham,  with  his  troops,  withdrew  by  order  of  the  English  Cabinet, 
and,  after  two  fruitless  victories,  the  campaign  near  the  Red  Sea  came  to 
an  end. 

“ The  problem  which  now  presented  itself  was  how  to  relieve  Khartoum, 
still  held  by  a faithful  Egyptian  garrison,  and  the  most  important  military 


BNGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


339 


position  in  the  Soudan.  The  relief  of  Khartonin  was  a iiincli  more  formida- 
ble task  than  the  defeat  of  Osman,  since  Khartoum  was  far  awa}^  amid  the 
interior  deserts,  and  conld  only  be  reached  by  any  route  with  infinite  diffi- 
cnlty  and  danger.  The  councils  of  the  English  Cabinet  were  greatly  per- 
plexed how  to  accomplish  it.  The  fear  of  becoming  deeply  involved  in  a 
distant  and  expensive  war  with  Arab  fanatics  vied  with  the  responsibilities 
which  England  had  assumed  in  Egypt  and  the  necessity  of  protecting 
Eg3^pt  from  an  invasion  by  the  False  Prophet.  England  had  virtually 
pledged  herself  to  rescue  the  garrisons  in  the  Soudan,  and  could  not  with 
honor  retreat  from  her  engagement. 

“A  strange,  striking,  but,  as  the  result  proved,  futile  policy  was  adopted 
by  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his  colleagues.  Yet  this  policy  had  this  merit,  that 
if  it  succeeded  it  would  have  cost  little  in  men  or  money.  General  Charles 
Gordon  had  long  been  famous  for  his  military  genius,  his  adventurous  and 
fearless  spirit,  his  wonderful  skill  in  dealing  with  barbarous  races,  and  his 
high  capacity  for  administration  in  Mohammedan  communities.  He  had 
fought  with  gallantry  and  brilliant  success  in  the  Chinese  rebellion.  He 
had  done  excellent  service  as  Governor  of  the  Soudan,  where  he  appar- 
ently won  the  respect  and  allegiance  of  the  nomad  tribes.  He  had  waged 
a vigorous  warfare  against  the  slave  trade.  He  was  full  of  ardor,  daring, 
and  self-confidence.  The  English  Cabinet  resolved  to  send  General  Gor- 
don to  the  Soudan,  unattended  by  any  military  force,  but  empowered  to 
procure  the  withdrawal  of  the  Egyptian  garrisons  and  to  establish  a settled 
government  by  an}^  means  which  he  might  find  it  best  to  adopt. 

“ Gordon  set  out  for  Khartoum  in  February,  1884.  He  went  almost 
alone,  his  companions  being  two  or  three  officers  and  an  Arab  convoy.  His 
only  weapon  was  an  ordinary  walking-stick.  He  went  up  the  Nile  from 
Cairo  to  Korosko,  and  thence  struck  across  the  Nubian  desert,  in  constant 
peril  of  his  life,  surrounded  by  hostile  or  suspicious  tribes,  and  exposed  to 
the  many  dangers  of  the  desert.  But  he  passed  it  safely,  rejoined  the  Nile 
at  Abu  Hamed,  and  thence  proceeded  up  the  river  to  Khartoum. 

“At  the  Soudanese  capital  he  was  received  with  a welcome  which  seemed 
to  give  bright  promise  of  the  success  of  his  mission.  With  his  unresting 
zeal  he  at  once  began  the  task  committed  to  him.  He  found  the  garrison 
stanch  and  many  of  the  surrounding  tribes  not  unfriendly.  He  strength- 
ened the  fortifications  of  Khartoum  and  other  places  in  the  vicinity,  estab- 
lished order  so  far  as  his  authority  extended,  and  was  even  able  tc  send  dowui 
the  river  to  Berber  a number  of  the  Egyptians  and  Europeans  whc  had  been 
living  in  Khartoum.  At  first  all  seemed  to  gc  well  with  Gordon  and  his 


340 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


purposes,  and  liis  reports  were  clieerfiil  and  sanguine.  But  as  the  spring 
and  then  the  suinmer  came  on,  untoward  events  took  place,  and  the  prospect 
of  his  success  became  constantly  more  doubtful.  Berber  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Mahdi’s  adherents,  and  so  Khartoiim  was  cut  off  from  communication 
with  Cairo  by  the  Nubian  desert  ; and  gradually  but  steadily  the  swarming 
legions  of  the  Mahdi  closed  around  Khartoum  itself. 

Gordon  appealed  to  England  for  help,  and  when  help  did  not  come  he 
loudly  denounced  the  English  Cabinet  for  their  dilatoriness  and  vacillation. 
Ere  long  the  fact  became  clear  that  not  only  was  Gordon  unable  to  with- 
draw the  Khartoum  or  any  other  garrison,  but  that  he  himself  could  not 
get  away  from  the  beleaguered  town  at  the  junction  of  the  two  Niles.  A 
long  period  of  hesitation  and  unsettled  policy  on  the  part  of  the  Gladstone 
Cabinet  ensued.  A desperate  hope  was  held  that  something  might  yet 
happen  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  sending  out  a rescuing  force.  The  Cabinet 
drifted  among  daily  changing  counsels.  Meanwhile  Gordon’s  situation 
became  constantly  more  precarious,  and  at  last  the  pressure  of  overwhelm- 
ing public  opinion  and  the  obligation  of  national  honor  compelled  the  Cab- 
inet to  take  decisive  action. 

Late  in  the  autumn  of  1884  a British  army  under  General  Lord  Wolse- 
ley  (who  had  won  his  peerage  at  Tel-el-Kebir)  was  dispatched  to  the  Soudan 
for  the  avowed  purpose  of  rescuing  Gordon  and  relieving  Khartoum.  Two 
routes  were  open  by  which  the  army  might  reach  the  scene  of  action — one 
by  way  of  the  Red  Sea  to  Suakin,  and  thence  by  the  desert  route  of  two 
hundred  and  forty  miles  to  Berber  on  the  Nile,  and  by  the  Nile  to  Khar- 
toum ; the  other  directly  up  the  Nile  to  the  great  bend  or  loop  made  b}" 
the  river  at  Dongola,  thence  by  the  Ba3mda  desert  across  to  Shendy,  and  so 
by  river  to  the  Soudanese  capital.  The  latter  route  was  at  last  chosen  ; 
and  after  a difficult  and  wearisome  passage  np  the  Nile,  Lord  Wolseley 
with  his  troops  established  headquarters  at  Korti,  a short  distance  south  of 
Dongola. 

“ The  plan  of  Lord  Wolseley ’s  campaign  was  quickly  developed.  While 
remaining  himself  at  Korti,  he  decided  to  send  two  forces  on  separate  lines 
of  advance.  Not  only  Khartoum,  but  Berber,  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Mahdi’s  adherents,  and  it  seemed  necessary  that  Berber  as  well  as  Khar- 
toum should  be  rescued  by  the  English.  Accordingly,  General  Earle  was 
dispatched  with  a force  of  about  two  thousand  five  hundred  men  up  the 
great  bend  of  the  Nile,  with  a view  of  attacking  and  reducing  Berber;  while 
General  Stewart  with  a force  of  about  the  same  numerical  strength  took 
up  his  march  eastward  across  the  Bayuda  desert,  with  the  intent  to  strike 


A M K 11 !(''  A X .1  ( ) I J 1 1 N A L I SI'S . 


Horaoe  fireeley,  born  in  New  Hainpshirr  i7i  1811  ; died 
in  1X72. 

James  ( iordon  bennett,  born  in  Scotland  in  1795;  <lied 
in  1872. 

George  W.  Childs,  born  in  1‘ennsylvania  in  1829;  died 
in  1894. 


Murat  Halstead,  born  in  1829. 

J.  b.  McCullogh,  born  1843. 

('has.  A.  Dana,  born  in  1819  ; died  in  1897. 
Joseph  Medill,  born  in  1823;  died  in  1899. 
Henry  Watterson,  born  in  1840. 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


341 


the  Nile  opposite  Sliendy.  The  distance  traversed  by  Stewart  over  this 
desert  is  about  two  hundred  miles. 

‘‘  The  main  interest  of  the  campaign  centred  upon  Stewart’s  expedition. 
It  was  more  perilous  and  difficult  than  that  of  Earle  up  the  river,  and  it 
aimed  more  directly  at  the  principal  object  of  the  English  in  the  Soudan — 
the  rescue  of  Gordon.  The  march  across  the  desert  was  conducted  with 
masterly  skill.  Twice  Stewart  and  his  well-disciplined  troops  were  assailed 
by  great  numbers  of  Arabs,  first  at  Abu  Klea  wells,  and  then  a few  miles 
further  east,  and  on  both  occasions  the  enemy  were  thoroughly  routed. 
After  a march  of  a little  over  a week,  Stewart’s  force  came  in  sight  of  the 
Nile  and  established  their  camp  at  Gubat,  on  its  left  bank,  a short  distance 
south  of  Metemmeh.  The  camp  was  well  fortified,  and  successive  convoys 
soon  supplied  it  v/ith  an  abundance  of  supplies  and  ammunition. 

“ The  next  step  was  to  communicate,  if  practicable,  with  Gordon  at  Khar- 
toum. The  river  above  Gubat,  though  difficult,  seemed  possible,  at  least,  for 
navigation.  It  was  determined  to  dispatch  two  steamers,  which  had  been 
sent  down  the  river  some  time  before  by  Gordon,  to  the  Soudan  capital, 
under  the  command  of  Sir  Charles  Wilson.  Sir  Charles,  accordingly,  set 
forth  on  his  adventurous  voyage  on  January  24,  1885.  As  the  steamers 
passed  up  the  Nile  they  were  assailed  by  the  x^rabs,  who  lined  the  banks, 
and  who  maintained  a heavy  fire  on  the  steamers,  in  some  places  using 
Krupp  guns.  On  January  28,  Sir  Charles  found  himself  opposite  the 
island  of  Tuti,  just  north  of  Khartoum.  No  sooner  had  his  steamers  made 
their  appearance,  however,  than  a hot  fire  opened  upon  them,  both  from  Tuti 
and  from  Omdurman  and  Khartoum.  It  then  became  startlingl}^  appa- 
rent that  Khartoum  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Mahdi. 

“ Sir  Charles  boldly  pushed  up  stream,  in  the  midst  of  a deadly  rifle  fire, 
to  within  a mile  of  the  city  itself.  He  saw  the  Mahdi’s  flag  floating  from 
its  ramparts,  and  swarms  of  the  Mahdi’s  followers  going  about  in  its  streets. 
He  then  ordered  his  steamers  to  retreat  down  the  river,  which  they  did 
under  a shower  of  bullets.  When  the\^  reached  the  sixth  cataract,  one  of 
the  steamers  was  hopelessly  wrecked  among  the  rocks,  and  its  men  and 
stores  were  with  difficulty  transferred  to  the  other  steamer.  Soon  after,  the 
other  steamer  was  also  wrecked  below  the  Shabluka  cataract,  and  Sir 
Charles  was  forced  to  land  with  his  party  on  a sand}^  island,  whence  he  sent 
row-boats  to  Gubat  with  the  intelligence  of  the  fall  of  Khartoum  and  of  his 
own  perilous  plight.  Boats  were  at  once  dispatched  to  his  rescue,  and  the 
expedition  soon  reached  the  English  camp  in  safety. 

Khartoum  had  fallen  on  Januar}*  26,  two  da3as  l)efore  the  arrival  of  Sir 


342 


ENGLISH  TROUBLES  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD 


Charles  Wilson’s  steamers.  It  appeared  that  certain  Arabs  within  the  city 
— the  chief  of  whom  was  one  Farag  Pasha — had  betrayed  the  garrison,  and 
while  warning  the  soldiers  to  keep  watch  on  the  defenses  at  one  end  of  the 
city,  they  opened  the  gates  to  the  Mahdi  and  his  adherents  at  the  other  end. 
General  Gordon  himself  was  killed  in  the  street  in  the  melee  which  followed, 
and  a large  part  of  the  garrison  cruelly  massacred.  The  Mahdi  had  long 
held  Omdurman,  a fortified  place  on  the  banks  of  the  White  Nile,  opposite 
Khartoum ; and  it  was  from  this  place  that  he  had  crossed  the  river,  and 
had  availed  himself  of  the  treachery  of  Farag  and  his  confederates. 

“ The  Stewart  expedition  was  thus  too  late  to  effect  the  rescue  for 
which  an  English  army  had  come  to  the  Soudan.” 


CHAPTER  XXXV 


(NINTH  DECADE) 

A LOOK  ROUND  THE  WORLD 

[^Resume. — Under  their  specific  chapters  the  story  of  the  several  leading  nations  of  the  world  has  been 
told.  We  propose  in  this  chapter  to  give  a comprehensive  survey  of  the  “ regiment  of  nations.”] 

The  position  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  had  been,  in  France,  one  of 
sufferance  rather  that  of  positive  authorization  ; nevertheless,  till 
of  late,  they  were  very  numerous  and  influential,  and  their  educa- 
tional institution  held  the  very  highest  rank.  In  1880,  however,  the  repub- 
lic decreed  the  dissolution  of  the  order,  without  giving  it  the  alternative  of 
seeking  authorization  ; and  in  July  of  that  year  the  members  were  expelled 
from  all  their  establishments  save  the  educational,  an  additional  month 
being  allowed  them  for  vacating  the  latter.  In  Belgium,  they  reinstated 
themselves  after  the  revolution,  and  they  now  possess  many  great  estab- 
lishments, professed  houses  as  well  as  colleges,  largel}^  attended  both  by 
Belgians  and  by  foreigners.  In  Holland,  also,  they  had  several  considerable 
houses,  as  well  as  in  England,  Ireland,  the  United  States,  and,  within  a 
recent  period,  Scotland.  In  Switzerland,  they  opened,  in  1818,  a college  at 
Fribourg,  which  became  a flourishing  establishment,  and  subsequently  the}^ 
extended  themselves  to  Schwytz  and  Lucerne  ; but  the  war  of  the  Sonder- 
biind  (one  of  the  main  causes  of  which  arose  from  the  Jesuit  question) 
ended  in  their  expulsion  from  the  Swiss  territory.  Of  the  German  states, 
Bavaria  and  Austria  tolerated  their  re-establishment  for  educational  pur- 
poses. In  the  Italian  province  of  the  former,  as  also  of  the  Tyrol,  they  had 
had  a certain  freedom  until  the  revolution  of  1848.  In  Russia,  they  were 
placed  under  sharp  restrictions  in  1817;  and  a few  years  later,  1820,  in 
consequence  of  their  successful  efforts  at  proselytism,  they  were  banished 
b}^  final  ukase  from  the  Russian  territory,  whence  they  still  remain  ex- 
cluded. The  Italian  revolution  of  1848  seriously  affected  their  position  in 

343 


344 


A LOOK  AROUND  THE  WORLD 


that  country.  In  that  year,  Pius  IX  found  it  expedient  to  permit  the 
breaking  up  of  the  college  and  other  houses  in  Rome.  They  returned, 
however,  with’ the  Pope  himself,  and  resumed  possession  of  their  ancient 
establishments.  On  the  proclamation  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  they  with- 
drew from  Sardinia,  Naples,  Sicily,  and  the  annexed  territory  in  general. 
In  the  recent  legislation  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  the  Jesuits  have  been 
visited  with  a special  measure  of  repression.  While  each  of  the  other 
principal  religious  orders  is  permitted  to  retain  its  “mother  house  ” at 
Rome,  in  which  the  general  of  the  order  may  reside,  the  Jesuits  have  been 
required  to  quit  their  principal  convent  of  the  Gesn.  In  Germany,  also, 
they  had  been  treated  with  exceptional  severity,  being  held  responsible  as  the 
main  agents  and  advisers  of  the  measures  adopted  in  the  Vatican  Council, 
which  are  complained  of  by  the  government  as  infringing  the  rights  of  the 
state.  By  the  law  of  July  4,  1873,  the  order  is  excluded  from  the  empire; 
its  establishments  are  abolished,  and  all  foreign  Jesuits  are  ordered  to  be 
expelled,  and  the  German  members  of  the  society,  as  well  as  of  kindred 
orders  and  congregations,  to  be  “ interned.” 

In  August  of  1820,  a rebel  army,  under  General  San  Martin,  one  of  the 
liberators  of  Chile,  sailed  for  Peru  after  a number  of  successes,  both  on 
sea  and  land,  in  which  the  patriots  were  most  effectively  assisted  by  the 
English  volunteers,  the  independence  of  the  country  was  proclaimed  July 
28,  1821,  and  vSan  Martin  assumed  the  protectorate  of  the  young  republic. 
From  this  date  to  i860,  under  various  titles,  twenty-one  rulers  have  held 
sway.  For  the  first  twenty-four  years  of  its  existence  as  an  independent 
republic,  the  country  was  distracted  and  devastated  by  wars  and  revolutions. 
In  1845  Ramon  Castilla  was  elected  president ; and  under  his  firm  and 
sagacious  guidance,  the  country  enjoyed  an  iinw^onted  measure  of  peace, 
and  became  regularly  organized.  Commerce  began  to  be  developed,  and 
important  public  works  were  undertaken.  The  term  of  his  presidency 
ended  in  1851,  in  wdiich  year  General  Rufino  Jose  Echenique  w^as  elected 
president.  The  country,  however,  was  discontented,  and  Castilla  again 
found  himself,  in  1855,  the  head  of  affairs.  Slavery,  which,  though 
abolished  b}^  the  charter  of  independence,  still  existed,  was  ended  by  a 
decree  dated  October,  1854.  In  1863  a quarrel  had  taken  place  at  the  estate 
of  Salambo,  between  some  Basque  emigrants  and  the  natives,  in  which 
several  of  the  disputants  were  killed  or  wounded.  Taking  advantage  of 
this  occurrence,  the  Spanish  government  sent  out  a “special  commissioner” 
in  the  spring  of  1864,  to  complain  of  injuries  sustained  by  Spaniards.  The 
“commissioner”  left  Lima  April  12  ; and  on  the  14th,  a Spanish  squadron, 


A LOOK  AROUND  THE  WORLD 


345 


under  Admiral  Pinzon,  took  forcible  possession  of  the  Cliiiicha  Islands.  The 
European  consuls  protested  loudly  against  this  outrage,  and  the  Peruvians 
were  greatly  excited.  War  was,  however,  averted.  President  Pezel  being 
unwilling  to  risk  hostilities  with  Spain  ; and  in  January,  1865,  ^ treaty  of 
peace  was  signed.  This  did  not  lead  to  internal  peace.  The  President  was 
declared  a traitor  by  the  Assembly  in  the  same  month  that  saw  the  treaty  of 
peace  ratified  in  the  Spanish  capital.  General  Canesco,  after  a severe 
struggle,  assumed  the  Presidential  authority,  and  retained  it  until  Novem- 
ber, when  Colonel  Prado  was  nominated  as  temporary  dictator.  The  ob- 
noxious treaty  was  rejected,  and  Prado  entered,  January,  1866,  into  a treaty, 
offensive  and  defensive,  with  Chili,  which  country  was  then  at  war  with 
Spain ; but  this  led  to  no  serious  consequences  to  Prado — an  unsuccessful 
attack  on  Callao  having  vindicated  Spanish  honor.  In  October,  General 
Prado  was  regularly  elected  President,  and  in  February,  1867,  recom- 
mended a new  constitution,  according  to  which  there  is  a Senate  of  44 
members  and  a House  of  no  representatives.  Prado  was  obliged  to  resign 
in  1868;  his  successor,  Balta,  was  assassinated  in  1872;  Pardo,  who  was 
President  till  1876,  was  succeeded  by  Prado.  Under  Pardo  the  country  was 
peaceful  and  prosperous,  and  education  was  greatly  extended. 

In  1886,  William  R.  Grace,  of  New  York,  representing  the  European 
bondholders  of  Peru,  submitted  a proposal  to  the  Government  for  the  can- 
cellation of  part  of  the  foreign  debt  in  return  for  various  railroad  concessions. 
Dr.  Aranibar  was  chosen  commissioner  to  Peru  to  treat  with  Mr.  Grace.  As 
the  negotiations  progressed,  their  range  increased.  The  bondholders  pooled 
their  interests,  formed  a syndicate,  and  made  a formal  proposition  to  the 
Government  of  Peru  to  assume  the  payment  of  the  entire  national  debt  for 
concessions  to  it  covering  a period  of  sixty-six  years.  A contract  to  carry 
out  the  provisions  of  the  proposal  was  drawn,  and,  after  long  discussion  in 
the  Peruvian  Congress,  was  formally  approved  by  that  body  October  25, 
1889.  The  foreign  debt  then  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  million 
dollars  and  the  interest  to  one  hundred  million  dollars,  both  with  interest 
long  defaulted.  Chili  was  made  a party  to  the  contract,  and  signed  a pro- 
tocol, under  which  she  agreed  to  restore  the  Lobos  Islands  to  Peru,  and  to 
return  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  guano  since  February, 
1882.  Under  the  joint  contract  Peru  was  released  from  responsibility  for 
the  loans  of  1869,  ^^7^,  and  1872,  nearly  all  of  which  was  incurred  in  rail- 
road construction  ; and  the  syndicate  took  possession  of  the  roads  for  sixty- 
six  years,  agreeing  to  complete,  operate,  and  return  them  to  Peru  at  the  end 
of  that  period.  The  various  roads  aggregated  about  seven  hundred  and 


346 


A LOOK  AROUND  THE  WORLD 


twenty-nine  miles.  The  Government  ceded  the  syndicate,  with  the  consent 
of  Chili,  the  guano  beds  at  Tarapaca,  Hiianillos,  Pabellon  de  Ica,  Piinta  de 
Ivobos,  and  wherever  else  guano  may  be  found,  to  the  extent  of  three  million 
tons,  reserving  for  home  consumption  the  beds  of  the  Chincha  Islands.  If 
the  syndicate  fail  to  find  the  specified  amount  of  guano,  Peru  is  not  respon- 
sible ; but  as  soon  as  the  amount  is  found,  all  the  beds  are  to  be  restored  to 
the  Government.  The  Government  also  ceded  the  right  of  navigation  on 
Lake  Titicaca;  franchises  for  valuable  mines  that  could  not  be  worked 
wdthout  further  railroad  extensions  ; five  million  acres  of  public  land,  and 
for  the  extension  of  the  railroad  to  the  Bolivian  frontier,  and  to  the  head 
of  navigation  on  the  Amazon  River,  an  additional  fifteen  thousand  acres 
for  each  kilometre  of  railroad  finished  ; and  the  right  to  use,  free  of 
expense,  all  the  moles  or  landing-places  at  the  different  ports.  The  only 
cash  consideration  imposed  on  the  Government  by  the  contract  was  the  pay- 
ment to  the  syndicate,  for  the  bondholders,  of  four  million  dollars  per  annum 
for  thirty-three  years.  Chili  ceded,  nominally  to  Peru  and  really  to  the 
syndicate,  the  guano  that  she  held  by  treaty  for  the  joint  benefit  of 
herself  and  Peru,  equivalent  to  about  ten  million  dollars,  to  aid  Peru  in  set- 
tling  with  the  foreign  bondholders,  and  to  relieve  herself  of  any  claim  by 
the  bondholders  on  the  province  of  Tarapaca,  which  she  took  from  Peru, 
and  v/hich  the  bondholders  claim  was  hypothecated  to  them  by  Peru  as  se- 
curity for  the  debt.  After  the  approval  of  the  contract  by  the  Congress  of 
Peru,  the  syndicate  organized  a joint-stock  company,  under  the  title  of  the 
Peruvian  Corporation,  wdth  a capital  of  eighty  million  one  hundred  and 
ninet}^  thousand  dollars;  and,  April,  1890,  all  of  its  first  issue  of  seven 
million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  debentures  was  subscribed  within  a 
week.  Under  the  impetus  of  this  vast  contract,  the  prospects  of  Peru  began 
brightening  almost  immediately.  A new  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce 
with  the  United  States  was  signed,  and  Peru  opened  negotiations  with  Chili 
for  the  surrender  of  her  lost  provinces  of  Tacna  and  Arica  in  advance  of  the 
ten-year  treaty  limitation. 

BOULANGISM  AND  THE  REPUBLIC. 

When,  in  the  spring  of  1888,  the  series  of  by-elections  began,  in  which 
General  Boulanger  was  destined  to  score  success  after  success  against  the 
regular  Republican  candidates  it  must  be  said  that  the  French  Republic  was 
in  a very  unenviable  position. 

When  attempting  to-day  to  judge  the  whole  of  the  Boulangist  advent- 
ure, no  one  should  forget  that,  when  he  suddenly  leaped  into  popularity, 


A LOOK  AROUND  THE  WORLD 


347 


General  Boulanger  was  considered  by  every  one  a Republican.  His  en- 
trance into  the  Cabinet  was  due  entirely  to  the  influence  of  one  of  the  most 
active  of  the  Republican  leaders,  M.  Clemenceau.  One  of  Boulanger’s 
first  acts  had  been  the  punishment  of  an  uncle  of  the  leading  monarchical 
pretender,  the  Due  d’Aumale,  for  a breach  of  discipline,  and  his  speech  in 
the  Senate  in  defense  of  his  action  had  the  true  Republican  ring.  It  was 
such  a novelty  in  the  French  Legislature  to  hear  a general,  a war  minister, 
utter  such  strongly  Republican  sentiments  that  this  alone  might  to  a great 
extent  explain  the  general’s  popularity  with  the  radical  masses  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  largest  cities  in  France.  Let  us  quote : 

• “ Close  students  of  history  cannot  deny  that  this  was  the  most  dangerous 
moment  of  the  crisis.  The  new  President  had  no  prestige  ; he  was  not  then 
believed  to  be  what  is  called  a strong  man.  In  their  long  tenure  of  office 
the  Republicans  had  committed  many  mistakes  ; some  of  them  undoubtedly 
unavoidable,  but  none  the  less  hurtful  to  the  Government  in  the  minds  of 
the  people.  As  always  happens  when  the  same  political  element  remains  a 
long  time  in  power,  the  selfish  spirit  of  office-seeking  had  fastened  upon  the 
ruling  party  all  that  was  ready  to  live  and  thrive  by  corruption,  and  the  old 
monarchical  skit  was  again  half  jocosely,  half  seriously,  uttered:  ‘We  do 
not  say  that  every  Republican  is  a thief,  but  every  thief  is  a Republican.’ 
Conscious  of  having  made  mistakes,  the  Republicans  disagreed  as  to  what 
these  mistakes  were,  and  still  more  on  what  course  was  to  be  pursued  in  the 
future  in  order  to  regain  fully  the  confidence  of  the  nation.  What  an 
opportunity  this  rise  of  Boulanger  into  notoriety  seemed  to  present  to  them  ! 
They  had  but  to  turn  the  eyes  of  the  public  away  from  all  the  disputed 
issues  of  the  day,  to  hide  behind  the  popular  hero,  to  monopolize  in  favor  of 
tlie  republic  and  the  Republican  party  that  love  of  one  man  which  history 
had  taught  was  such  an  important  element  in  the  make-up  of  the  political 
ideas  of  the  French  masses.  And  the  general,  with  his  unmeaning  but 
good-natured  smile,  not  only  took  care  to  discourage  no  one,  but  was  sure 
to  discover  the  weak  spot  which  offered  admission  to  the  poison  of  flattery, 
and  by  this  means  to  become  the  candidate  for  friendship  with  the  smallest 
holder  of  any  amount  of  influence  or  patronage.  What  a temptation  ! 
This  was  the  critical  hour.  Was  the  Republican  party  reall}"  made  up  of 
Republicans,  or  did  it  consist  merely  of  men  who,  for  one  reason  or  another, 
considered  it  impossible  to  identify  themselves  with  any  of  the  old  mon- 
archical parties,  and  were  bent  mainl}^  upon  retaining  for  themselves  as  large 
a share  of  power  as  possible. 

“ We  repeat  that  here  was  the  temptation  for  the  Republican  party. 


348 


'A  LOOK  AROUND  THE  WORLD 


How  much  easier  to  shout,  ‘ Vive  Boulanger !’  than  to  say  to  the  country  : 
‘ We  have  made  mistakes  ; we  shall  try  to  discover  what  they  are,  and  to 
correct  them.  We  have  allowed  corruption  to  creep  into  our  ranks ; we 
have  already  taken  one  bold  step  against  it ; we  have  compelled  a President, 
whose  own  person  every  one  of  us  respected,  to  retire,  because  his  presence 
at  the  head  of  the  Government  made  it  impossible  to  hunt  down  the  corrup- 
tionists who  were  in  his  own  family.  We  mean  to  continue  the  fight,  and 
after  getting  rid  of  Wilson  to  get  rid  of  Wilsonisni  too.’ 

“ What,  now,  was  the  attitude  of  the  general  himself  ? He  took  great 
care  not  to  ofifend  the  Republican  party  as  a whole.  He  spoke  against  cor- 
ruption ; so  did  all  the  Republicans.  He  spoke  against  colonial  enter- 
prises, against  M.  Jules  Ferry  ; so  did  a great  many  Republicans,  and  so 
would  a great  many  more  have  done  if  they  had  not  been  afraid  of  being 
taxed  with  inconsistency.  He  was  evidently  waiting  for  the  Republican 
party  to  take  him  up,  to  make  him  its  leader,  and  insure  the  continuance  of 
its  tenure  by  the  help  of  the  popularity  of  the  ‘ braN  general. 

“ What  happened  ? Not  a single  one  of  the  various  and  conflicting  frac- 
tions of  the  Republican  party  for  a moment  consented  to  swallow  the  bait. 

“ The  Republican  party  had  passed  through  the  ‘ corridor  of  tempta- 
tion,’ and  had  not  succumbed.  The  general  was  compelled  either  to  fall 
back  into  comparative  obscurity,  and  patiently  to  wait  for  an  opportunity  to 
display  his  military  talents,  if  he  had  any,  and  thus  earn  the  popularity 
which  up  to  that  time  seemed  only  a freak  of  Dame  Fortune,  or  else  to  en- 
gage in  political  intrigues,  at  the  end  of  which  he  was  sure  to  come  to  polit- 
ical suicide,  if  not  to  something  worse. 

“ Then  began  the  period  in  which  the  danger  was  much  more  apparent 
than  real.  The  bait  which  had  been  offered  to  the  Republicans  and  spurned 
by  them  was  offered  to,  and  greedily  seized  by,  the  monarchical  parties. 

“ Was  there  any  real  danger  of  having  a Boulangist  House  elected  in 
1889?  Could  any  shrewd  observer  fail  to  see  that,  although  the  Royalists 
were  perfectly  willing  to  let  the  general,  who  had  been  ousted  from  the 
army  for  acts  of  insubordination,  have  himself  elected  time  and  time  again 
to  seats  which  he  could  not  occupy,  every  one  of  the  two  hundred  anti- 
Republican  deputies,  when  it  came  to  sacrificing  his  own  seat,  would  find 
reasons  satisfactory  to  himself  for  refusing  to  surrender  that  seat,  not  to 
General  Boulanger  himself,  but  to  any  Boulangist  whom  the  general  might 
be  pleased  to  designate  ? Even  admitting  that  the  coalition  had  serious 
chances  of  winning  a majority  at  the  coming  general  election — and  such 
chances  it  certainly  seemed  to  have — it  was  clear  that  at  least  three-fourths 


A LOOK  AROUND  THE  WORLD 


341> 


of  that  majority  would  consist  of  Royalists  and  Boiiapartists  who  in  no  way 
owed  their  seats  to  the  general,  and  who  would  not  consider  themselves  his 
tools  and  creatures. 

‘‘  Nobody  knew  that  better  than  the  general  himself,  and  that  undoubt- 
edly is  the  reason  why,  as  is  now  a matter  of  public  record,  he  was  so  ready 
to  sell  himself  to  any  pretender  willing  to  pay  his  price  ; why  he  first 
offered  himself  to  Prince  Jerome^  Napoleon,  who  did  not  think  the  goods 
valuable  enough  for  the  price  put  upon  them  ; then  to  the  Comte  de  PariSy 
who,  having  neither  his  father’s  loft}^  patriotism  nor  his  grandfather’s 
shrewdness,  paid  his  money  and  asked  no  questions.” 

While,  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century,  every  continental 
portion  of  Spanish  America  established  its  independence,  Cuba,  remainingy 
like  Porto  Rico,  faithful  to  the  mother-country,  largely  profited  by  the  intes- 
tine broils  of  the  revolted  provinces,  for,  when  the  Old  Spaniards  were  ex- 
pelled in  mass  from  the  mainland,  many  of  them  naturally  took  refuge  in 
the  still  loyal  islands,  enriching  them  with  their  capital  and  energy  and 
skill.  Cuba  has  long  been  coveted  by  other  nations.  In  1762,  Havana  was 
captured  by  a British  armament,  but  was  restored  to  Spain  in  the  following 
year.  The  island  for  many  years  has  been  an  object  of  cupidity  to  certain 
politicians  and  adventurers  of  the  United  States — a cupidity  checked  more 
by  jealousy  on  the  part  of  France  and  England  than  by  Spain’s  own  re- 
sources. In  fact,  the  island  has  been  twice  attacked — 1850  and  1851 — by 
individual  Americans,  in  small  marauding  bands,  without  success.  They 
were  commanded  by  a Spaniard  named  Lopez,  who,  being  taken  prisoner, 
was  put  to  death  as  a traitor.  The  termination  of  the  war  of  secession  pro- 
duced an  unexpected  effect  on  the  status  of  Cuba.  Among  those  who  had 
coveted  the  island  was  the  pro-slavery  party  in  the  United  States,  for  the 
reason  that  it  was  the  only  market  from  which  slaves  could  be  imported 
into  the  Southern  States  ; and  this  trade  was  ended  by  the  abolition  of 
slavery.  This  was  not,  however,  the  only  effect  of  the  war.  It  destroyed 
the  production  of  sugar  in  the  Southern  States,  and  Cuba  supplied  the  want. 
Great  interests  were  created  in  New  York — which  has  long  been  and  remains 
largely  Southern  in  sentiment  and  sympathy.  The  Spanish  revolution  of 
1868,  when  Queen  Isabella  was  driven  from  the  throne,  effected  another 
change  in  Cuban  politics.  The  Madrid  Ministry,  1870,  passed  a measure 
known  as  the  Morlet  law,  which  declared  that  every  slave  at  the  age  of  sixty 
should  become  free,  and  emancipated  all  the  unborn  offspring  of  slaves. 
This  law  never  was  enforced,  its  publication  even  having  been  prohibited  by 


350 


A LOOK  AROUND  THE  WORLD 


the  “ peninsularer and  the  Madrid  Government  have  never  been  in  a posi- 
tion to  enforce  it  or  any  other  measure  which  meets  the  disapproval  of  the 
“ loyal  party  ” in  Cuba.  Instead  of  doing  so,  it  accepted  their  allinnce,  and 
aided  them  by  sending  troops  to  crush  the  creole  and  negro  insurrection 
which  broke  out  in  1868.  The  struggle  was  carried  on  with  varying  suc- 
cess, and  often  with  unexampled  ferocity,  for  ten  years.  It  was  not  until 
the  beginning  of  this  decade  that  the  authorities,  partly  through  military 
energy  and  partly  by  terms  of  compromise,  succeeded  in  quelling  the 
rebellion. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 


(TENTH  DECADE) 

UP  TO  THE  WAR  WITH  SPAIN 


[Resume. — The  United  States  attained  to  the  supreme  point  of  its  successful  history  in  the  preceding 
decade  of  our  story.  Its  troubles  were  domestic,  internal,  and  not  of  grave  importance.] 

Because  of  the  difficulties  we  had  with  them  during  the  decade,  this 
seems  to  us  the  fitting  place  to  speak  of  the  American  Indians. 
“ Civilization,  as  an  external  contact  merely,  has  proved  the  ruin  of 
the  Indians  morally  and  physically.  Thirst  for  revenge,  unquenchable 
hate,  loss  of  self-respect,  and  whisky  have  been  the  constant  heritage 
(especially  in  the  United  States)  entailed  on  the  reds  by  the  approach  of 
the  whites.  The  result  of  the  English  settlement  and  the  policy  of  the 
United  States  have  all  along  been  to  thrust  the  Indians  ever  farther  into 
the  West,  till  now  there  are  no  wild  tribes  east  of  the  Mississippi.  The 
Cherokees  and  Creeks  were  bodily  removed  from  Georgia  to  the  Indian 
Territory,  1838.  Virginia  had  three  Indian  wars  or  massacres,  1622,  1629, 
1637  ; New  England  two — the  Pequot  war,  1637,  King  Philip’s  war, 
1675.  The  United  States  policy  with  the  Indians  has  not  been  satisfactor}^ 
or  successful,  and  difficulties  and  small  wars  have  been  frequent.  Christian 
missions  have  been  largely  prosecuted  among  them  b}^  individuals  and 
societies.  The  French  and  the  Spaniards  had  missions ; and  of  Protestant 
missionaries  the  names  of  Ma^diew,  John  Eliot,  and  the  Brainerds  are  con- 
spicuous. The  five  civilized  tribes  of  the  Indian  Territory  raised  (1880) 
over  3,000,000  bushels  of  grain,  and  had  100  schools  and  8,500  pupils, 
industries  being  taught  there  and  on  the  other  reservations.  Despite 
the  general  belief  that  the  American  race  is  dying  out,  it  is  a fact  that 
there  are  as  many,  if  not  more,  Indians  than  ever  before.  In  Canada, 
in  the  spring  of  1885,  the  half-breeds  and  Indians  of  the  Northwest 
Territory  rebelled  under  Louis  Riel,  who,  after  their  defeat  b}-  General 

351 


352 


UP  TO  THE  WAR  WITH  SPAIN 


Middleton,  was  hanged.  Three  towns  of  Canada  are  exclusively  Indian. 
The  great  mass  of  Spanish  Americans  are  of  Indian  origin.  In  Canada 
there  were  in  i88i  nearly  104,000.  In  North  America  altogether,  the 
Indians  were  calculated  at  considerably  less  than  four  millions  ; and  in 
South  America,  including  pure  and  mixed,  about  seven  millions.  In  the 
United  States  and  territories,  excluding  Alaska,  there  were  reported  (1880) 
256,127  Indians,  population  of  Alaska,  full-bloods  and  half-breeds,  was 
estimated  at  30,000.  Of  the  256,127,  138,046  wore  citizens’  dress  and  were 
classed  as  civilized  and  semi-civilized.  The  Five  Nations  in  the  Indian 
Territory  numbered  : Cherokees,  20,000 ; Choctaws,  16,500;  Creeks,  14,500; 
Chickasaws,  7,000,  and  Seminoles,  2,500;  total,  60,500.  These  were 
regarded  as  the  most  civilized  in  the  country  ; had  13,177  children  of  school 
age;  occupied  16,250  houses;  had  33,650  wearing  citizens’  dress;  and 
maintained  from  tribal  funds  and  government  appropriations  12  boarding 
and  183  day  schools,  which  accommodated  6,250  pupils.  Of  the  other  and 
less  advanced  Indians,  77,546  wore  citizens’  dress  and  11,081  could  read, 
and  they  occupied  11,634  houses  and  maintained  52  boarding  and  107  day 
schools,  which  accommodated  9,431  pupils. 

The  Chicago  World’s  Columbian  Exposition,  to  celebrate  Columbus 
and  the  discovery  of  this  continent,  opened  May  i and  closed  October  31, 
1893.  The  expenditures  for  it  to  November  12,  1893,  w^ere  $28,151,168.75, 
and  the  receipts  $1,114,336.08  in  excess  of  this.  The  total  attendance  at 
the  fair  was  27,539,041  persons,  half  a million  less  than  that  at  the  Paris 
Exposition  in  1889.  The  admissions  to  the  Centennial  in  1876  were  only 
10,164,489.  But  though  the  Columbian  Fair  outshone  its  American  pre- 
decessor, it  did  not  by  any  means  eclipse  that.  Speaking  very  generall}^, 
the  Chicago  event  was  but  a repetition  of  the  event  at  Philadelphia,  only  on 
a much  vaster  scale.  There  were,  however,  some  noteworthy  new  features. 
The  buildings  were  not  only  grander  and  more  numerous,  but  in  better 
architectural  taste.  A larger  number  of  highly  distinguished  guests 
attended.  The  great  congresses,  especially  the  Congress  of  Religions,  were 
an  adaptation  from  similar  concourses  held  in  connection  with  the  Paris 
Exposition  of  1889.  These,  to  be  sure,  were  no  integral  part  of  the  Chicago 
Fair ; nor  were  the  various  exhibitions  of  the  Midway  Plaisance,  some  of 
them  blemishes  to  the  Exposition  rather  than  ornaments.  The  colossal 
Ferris  wheel,  costing  $392,000,  its  top  265  feet  from  the  ground,  was  another 
innovation. 

The  enormous  strides  with  which  the  United  States  paid  off  its  war 
debt  amazed  the  world.  The  debt  had  reached  its  highest  point  in  August, 


UP  TO  THE  WAR  WITH  SPAIN 


353 


1865.  At  that  date  the  figure  was  $2,844,649,626,  or,  for  the  interest- 
bearing  part  alone,  $2,381,530,294.  The  total  interest-bearing  debt  on 
April  30,  1888,  was  only  $1,638,199,762.  At  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year, 
June  30,  1888,  the  debt,  less  cash  in  the  treasury,  amounted  to  $1,165,- 
584,656.  Its  items  at  this  time  were,  $222,207,050  in  bonds  at  4j^  per  cent., 
payable  in  1891  ; $714,315,456  in  4 per  cent,  bonds,  payable  in  1907  ; 4 per 
cent,  refunding  certificates  amounting  to  $141,300;  the  3 per  cent,  navy 
pension  fund  of  $14,000,000,  and  the  Pacific  Railway  6 per  cent,  bonds, 
$64,623,512.  Thus  on  June  30,  1888,  more  than  half  of  the  largest  total 
had  been  paid  off,  and  the  net  debt,  aside  from  the  Pacific  Railway  bonds, 
which  that  corporation  is  to  pay,  having  fallen  below  a billion.  The  re- 
duction proceeded  for  the  entire  twenty-three  years  between  the  first  and 
last  dates  named,  at  an  average  rate  of  $62,906,975  yearl}^,  or  $5,225,581 
each  month,  $174,186  each  day,  $7,258  each  hour,  and  $126.47  each  minute. 

The  interest-bearing  legal  tender  notes  were  first  paid  off.  The  green- 
backs, or  non-interest-bearing  legal  tenders,  were  still,  in  1894,  outstanding  to 
the  amount  of  $346,681,000;  yet  this  division  of  the  debt,  too,  has  been 
vastly  reduced,  having  stood  at  $433,160,569  on  August  31,  1865. 
bonded  obligations  of  the  country  the  policy  of  refunding  was  early  applied, 
bonds  of  high  rates  being  called  in  so  soon  as  possible  and  replaced  by 
others  bearing  lower  rates.  The  income  of  the  Government  was  so  immense 
that  it  proved  unfortunate  to  have  set  so  late  a date  as  1891  for  the  time  at 
which  the  4/^s  could  be  paid.  To  fix  the  date  of  maturit}^  for  the  4s  in 
1907  was,  of  course,  worse  still.  The  3 per  cents,  of  1882,  which  sup- 
planted earlier  issues,  were  fortunately  made  payable  at  the  Government’s 
option,  and  on  May  20,  1887,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  issued  a call 
for  the  last  of  them,  amounting  to  $19,717,500,  interest  to  cease  with  the 
I St  of  the  following  July.  Thereafter  there  were  no  bonds  subject  to  par 
payment  at  the  discretion  of  the  Government,  and  as  revenues  were  vast  the 
surplus  began  to  pile  up  in  the  treasury.  December  i,  1887,  after  every 
possible  obligation  of  the  Government  had  been  provided  for,  $55,258,701 
remained,  a sum  increased  by  the  end  of  that  fiscal  year,  namel}^,  June  30, 
1888,  in  spite  of  considerable  amounts  in  long  bonds  purchased  at  high 
rates,  to  $163,220,464.  There  was  no  method  at  once  legal  and  economical 
for  paying  this  out.  The  Secretary  could,  of  course,  buy  4s  and  4J2S  in 
the  open  market,  and  during  1888  this  was  done  to  some  extent.  Obviously, 
if  entered  upon  in  a large  way,  it  must  have  greatly  increased  the  price  of 
those  bonds.  The  question  how  to  limit  the  surplus,  how  to  keep  the  money 
of  the  country  from  becoming  locked  up  in  the  treasury  and  sub-treasuries 


354 


UP  TO  THE  WAR  WITH  SPAIN 


of  the  United  States,  was  thus  a grave  one,  and  entered  prominently  into 
the  political  campaign  of  the  last-named  year. 

On  June  30,  1890,  $109,615,750  in  the  per  cent,  bonds,  redeemable 
September  i,  1891,  were  still  outstanding.  By  April  i,  1891,  they  had,  by 
redemption  or  purchase,  been  reduced  to  $53,854,250,  of  which  one-half  in 
value  was  held  by  national  banks,  to  sustain  their  circulation.  To  avoid 
contracting  this  circulation,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  permitted  holders 
of  these  bonds  to  retain  them  and  receive  interest  at  two  per  cent.  About 
$25,364,500  was  so  continued.  Interest  on  the  remainder  ceased  at  their 
maturity,  and  nearly  all  were  soon  paid  off.  The  bonds  continued  at  two 
per  cent,  were  all  along  quoted  at  par,  though  payable  at  the  will  of  the 
Government,  revealing  a national  credit  never  excelled  in  history.  The 
national  debt,  less  cash  in  the  treasury,  stood  on  July  i,  1894,  after  an  in- 
crease during  the  previous  fiscal  year  of  $60,000,000,  at  $899,313,381. 

The  material  progress  of  the  United  States  during  the  past  two  decades 
has  been  enormous.  We  have  no  room  for  details.  Our  total  population 
b}^  1880  had  swollen  to  50,155,783  ; by  1890  to  62,622,250.  The  census  val- 
uation of  our  national  wealth,  which  had  been  for  i860,  $16,159,616,068, 
was  for  1870,  $30,668,518,507;  for  1880,  $43,642,000,000;  and  for  1890, 
$65,037,691,197.  The  per  capita  wealth  was,  according  to  the  census  of 
i860,  $514;  by  that  of  1870,  $780;  by  that  of  1880,  $870;  by  that  of  1890, 
$1,636.  In  1870  the  United  States  was  in  wealth  the  third  nation  on  the 
globe ; in  1880  it  had  distanced  France,  and  stood  second.  Perhaps  by  to- 
day it  is  first.  “ The  country  whose  population  has  been  developed  within 
two  hundred  and  eighty  years  does  already  one-third  of  the  world’s  mining, 
one-fourth  of  its  manufacturing,  and  one-fifth  of  its  agriculture  ; and  at  least 
one-sixth  of  the  world’s  wealth  is  concentrated  in  the  strip  of  territor}^  in 
Central  North  America  which  is  the  home  of  the  United  States.”  The 
foregoing  words  were  written  after  the  census  of  1880. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 


(TENTH  DECADE) 

THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  WAR 

\^Rhume. — The  United  States  confronted  a large  and  difficult  problem  early  in  1898.  It  championed  the 
cause  of  the  rebellious  Cubans  as  against  Spain.  With  the  sinking  of  our  warship  “ Maine,”  a war 
began,  a war  which  was  as  successful  as  it  was  rapid,] 

ONLY  a few  years  ago  the  greatest  of  geographers,  Onesime  Reclus,  had 
■ his  account  of  the  Spanish  Antilles  revised  and  brought  down  to  date 
by  impartial  English  writers.  Here,  in  compact  form,  is  what  they 
say  : ' The  Spanish  Antilles,  embracing  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico,  comprise 
49,479  square  miles,  a little  more  than  one-half  the  area  of  the  entire  archi- 
pelago; their  inhabitants  number  2,276,000  (of  whom  1,300,000  are  whites, 
or  are  rated  as  such),  somewhat  less  than  half  the  population  of  all  these 
islands.  Cuba  has  no  rival  in  wealth  and  size  among  the  other  Antilles.  It  is 
about  equally  distant  between  Florida  and  Yucatan.  It  is  separated  from 
the  first  by  the  Florida  Channel,  125  to  140  miles  wide,  and  from  the  Mexi- 
can main  land  by  the  Channel  of  Yucatan.  When  Columbus  set  foot  on 
Cuban  shores,  in  the  month  of  October,  1492,  he  found  200,000  Indians,  or, 
according  to  other  estimates,  500,000,  or  even  a million.  These  inoffensive 
savages  yielded  tamely  to  the  conqueror,  stretched  out  their  necks  to  the 
rope,  and  perished  all  the  sooner  for  their  pliancy.  It  was  in  1512  that  the 
Spaniards  established  themselves  permanently  in  the  island  of  Fernandina, 
as  they  then  designated  the  land  which  Columbus  had  called  Juana,  and 
which,  afterwards,  received  the  names  of  Santiago  and  Ave  Maria,  before 
adopting  that  of  Cuba.  Twelve  years  later  the  enslaved  race  had  been 
reduced  to  20,000  men.  In  1560  it  was  apparentl}^  extinct,  but  this  half 
century  had  not  wholly  effaced  their  names  from  the  book  of  life  ; already 
many  half-breeds  had  sprung  from  the  union  of  the  conquerors  with  Indian 
women,  and  it  is  now  thought  that  a portion  of  tlie  mountaineers  of  the 

355 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  WAR 


eastern  department  are  of  genuine  Cuban  and  American  descent.  Long 
years  passed  before  the  destroying  nation  began  to  restore  life  to  the  desert 
it  had  created.  The  marvelous  land,  which  afterwards  became  the  ‘ Pearl 
of  the  Antilles,’  could  not  retain  its  hold  on  the  gloomy  sons  of  the  steppes 
of  Castille,  La  Mancha,  and  Estremadura,  any  more  than  on  the  joyous 
Andalusians.  How  could  it  when  there  were  countries  of  magic  renown  on 
the  continent — Mexico,  Peru,  and  that  never-attained  El  Dorado — in  com- 
parison with  whose  treasures  all  the  wealth  of  the  empire  of  the  Incas  was 
poverty  itself?  The  Spanish  settlement  acquired  no  stability  until  towards 
the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century.  At  that  period,  Jamaica,  one  of  the 
Greater  Antilles  belonging  to  Spain,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  heretical 
English,  and  anywhere  from  2,000  to  8,000  Spaniards  abandoned  the  island 
for  Cuba,  where  they  found  once  more  their  own  language,  their  own  religion, 
and  their  native  government,  under  the  shelter  of  the  thick  wall  of  Havana. 
At  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth, 
Cuba  received  thousands  of  French  from  San  Domingo,  who  came  as  volun- 
tary exiles  from  the  vengeance  of  the  blacks.” 

On  February  15,  1898,  the  United  States  battleship  “Maine,”  anchored 
in  the  harbor  of  Havana,  was  blown  to  pieces,  when  two  officers  and  more 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty  members  of  the  crew  were  killed  ; one  hundred 
and  four  survived,  most  of  whom  were  injured,  some  of  them  fatally.  The 
ship  and  all  her  contents  were  totally  destroyed.  The  next  day  the  United 
States  Senate  adopted  a resolution  of  sorrow  for  the  loss,  and  a naval  court 
of  inquiry  appointed  to  investigate,  debated  a resolution  providing  for  a Con- 
gressional investigation  of  the  disaster,  and  the  House  passed  a resolution 
appropriating  $200,000  to  recover  the  bodies  and  save  the  property.  The 
Spanish  official  request  for  a joint  investigation  was  declined,  however. 
Moreover,  the  Senate  instructed  the  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs  to  investi- 
gate the  disaster,  and  passed  the  House  resolution  of  $200,000  for  the  work 
on  the  wreck.  By  a vote  of  fifty-two  to  four,  the  Senate  passed  a bill  pro- 
viding two  additional  regiments  of  artilleiy. 

On  February  25,  the  Spanish  cruiser  “ Vizcaya,”  after  a brief  visit, 
departed  from  the  harbor  of  New  York.  Within  twenty- four  hours  the 
Spanish  Cortes  was  dissolved,  having  voted  one  million  pesetas  for  the  navy, 
during  its  session.  From  that  day  on  important  events  followed  rapidly, 
culminating  in  President  McKinley’s  decisive  action  April  ii,  1898.  On 
that  day  he  asked  Congress  to  authorize  him  to  intervene  in  Cuba  with 
force.  Congress  assented  on  the  19th,  and  an  ultimatum  was  sent  to  Spain 
demanding  the  evacuation  of  Cuba.  In  the  declaration  of  war  it  was 


THE  SPAXISHAMERICAN  WAR 


357 


affirmed  that  it  should  be  waged  in  the  interest  of  hninanit}^  and  not  for  the 
acquisition  of  territory.  Hostilities  were  precipitated,  as  we  have  seen,  by 
the  sinking  of  the  battleship  Alaine  ” in  the  harbor  of  Havana  in  Feb- 
ruary. Months  before  the  declaration  of  war  our  warships  were  assembled 
in  large  numbers  at  Key  West,  near  Havana,  and  on  iVpril  22,  the  day  after 
war  opened.  Admiral  Sampson  began  the  blockade  of  Cuban  ports.  The 
Buena  Venture  ” was  the  first  prize,  taken  by  the  “ Nashville  ” on  the 
2 2d,  and  iiiaii}^  other  Spanish  merchantmen  were  captured  within  the  next 
few  weeks.  In  anticipation  of  hostilities  Congress  had  voted  $50,000,000 
to  be  expended  at  the  President’s  discretion.  A large  army  was  authorized, 
and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  volunteers  were  called  out. 
Later  seventy-five  thousand  more  were  summoned.  With  the  regulars,  and 
other  troops  authorized,  an  army  of  over  a quarter  of  a million  was  finally 
provided.  Patriotism  and  popular  enthusiasm  caused  many  of  the 
militia  regiments,  maintained  for  local  purposes  in  the  various  States,  to 
volunteer  en  masse  for  service  in  the  Federal  Army.  In  the  South  much 
gratification  was  felt  at  the  appointment  of  ex-Confederates  to  important 
commands. 

Never  throughout  her  long,  eventful  history  did  the  kingdom  of  Spain 
make  a more  woful  mistake  than  when  she  measured  swords  with  the  young 
Giant  of  the  West,  who  entered  the  fight,  not  for  territorj^  or  gain,  but  solely 
in  the  interests  of  humanity.  When  such  an  appeal  is  made  to  the  American 
heart,  the  response  is  always  prompt,  energetic,  and  resistless. 

In  the  order  of  events,  our  record  carries  us  to  the  other  side  of  the 
world,  where  the  Philippines,  more  than  a thousand  in  number,  and  extend- 
ing north  and  south  through  fifteen  degrees  of  latitude,  with  an  area  about 
the  size  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  constitute  the  most  valuable  colonial  posses- 
sion of  Spain.  On  May  i,  Commodore  George  Dewey,  in  command  of  the 
Asiatic  squadron,  consisting  of  four  cruisers  and  two  gunboats,  steamed  up 
from  Hong  Kong  and  straight  into  the  harbor  of  Alanila,  in  the  face  of 
submarine  mines,  torpedoes,  and  the  forts.  Without  the  slightest  hesitation 
he  engaged  the  entire  Spanish  fleet,  numbering  eleven  warships,  and  in  one 
of  the  most  terrific  and  remarkable  fights  in  naval  annals  destroyed  them 
all,  inflicting  severe  losses  and  without  the  death  of  a single  American,  only 
six  of  whom  received  trifling  wounds.  The  victory  was  one  of  the  most 
decisive  and  wonderful  in  the  histor}^  of  the  world. 

Commodore  Dewey,  who  was  made  full  admiral  February  13,  1899,  did 
not  capture  the  city  of  Manila,  the  capital  of  the  Philippines,  for,  while  it 
was  easy  to  do  so,  his  force  was  not  strong  enough  to  hold  it.  He  destroyed 


358 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  WAR 


the  fortifications  at  the  head  of  Manila  Bay  and  took  possession  of  the  naval 
station  of  Cavite,  near  the  city.  General  Wesle}^  jNIerritt  was  sent  thither 
as  military  governor.  Being  furnished  with  a strong  body  of  soldiers,  he 
captured  the  city  with  slight  loss,  and,  coming  into  the  possession  of  the 
Americans,  it  has  been  retained  ever  since.  Aguinaldo,  leader  of  the  Fili- 
pinos, who  had  been  twice  bribed  by  Spain  to  cease  rebelling  against  her, 
now  turned  against  the  Americans,  who  had  been  waging  the  war  for  the 
benefit  of  him  and  his  countiyunen,  and  started  what  he  termed  a struggle 
for  independence.  He  proved  a very  elusive  enemy,  and  for  a time  his  re- 
sistance was  troublesome  and  caused  considerable  loss  of  life  among  the 
troops  whose  work  it  was  to  pacify  the  island.  Generals  Otis,  MacArthur,  and 
Lawton  (the  last  of  whom,  sad  to  say,  lost  his  life)  and  the  brave  soldiers 
under  them  did  their  duty  gallantly.  The  warfare  of  the  Filipinos  grad- 
ually degenerated  into  guerrilla  tactics,  audit  was  not  until  the  centur}^  was 
well  toward  its  close  that  anything  resembling  tranquillity  and  peace  came 
to  the  harried  islands. 

Aleanwhile  our  own  side  of  the  world  has  been  the  scene  of  stirring 
events.  A great  deal  of  uneasiness  was  felt  throughout  the  country  con- 
cerning the  Spanish  fleet  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Cervera,  but  when 
hundreds  were  wondering  where  the  blow  was  going  to  fall,  it  was  found 
that  the  enemy’s  squadron  was  in  the  harbor  of  Santiago,  where  it  remained, 
closely  blockaded,  until  July  3.  Then,  in  the  bright  sunlight  of  the  sum- 
mer morning,  the}^  made  a dash  out  of  the  land-locked  bay,  in  a desperate 
effort  to  get  to  sea  and  escape.  The  “ Brooklyn  ” (Commodore  W.  S. 
Schley),  the  “ Oregon  ” (Captain  Charles  E.  Clark),  the  Iowa  ” (Captain 
Robley  D.  Evans),  and  the  “ Texas  ” (Captain  John  W.  Philip)  were  on  the 
alert  and  attacked  the  ships  the  moment  they  came  within  range.  The 
marksmanship  of  the  American  gunners  was  marvelously  accurate,  and 
from  the  first  the  Spanish  vessels  were  doomed.  The  “ Infanta  Maria 
Teresa,”  the  ‘‘  Almirante  Oquendo,”  and  the  “ Vizcaya  ” were  driven  ashore 
in  a sinking  condition  and  surrendered  ; the  “ Cristobal,”  the  swiftest  of  the 
enemy’s  fleet,  was  chased  for  fifty  miles,  when  the  Brooklyn  ” and  the 
“ Oregon  ” drove  her,  too,  ashore,  and  pounded  her  into  submission.  Two 
torpedo-boats,  which  were  held  in  great  fear,  were  furiously  assaulted  b}^  the 
converted  yacht  “Gloucester”  and  wrecked  within  four  miles  of  Santiago 
harbor.  Admiral  Cervera  and  thirteen  hundred  officers  and  men  were  made 
prisoners,  the  loss  on  the  American  side  being  only  one  killed  and  two 
wounded.  Admiral  Sampson,  in  command  of  the  American  fleet,  happened 
to  be  absent  consulting  with  General  Shafter,  in  charge  of  the  land  forces, 


THE  SPANISHAMERICAN  WAR 


359 


at  the  opening  of  the  battle,  but  arrived  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  closing 
scenes. 

As  has  been  stated,  General  Shafter  was  in  command  of  the  military 
operations  in  Cuba.  His  troops  to  the  number  of  fifteen  thousand  began 
landing  at  Baiquiri  on  the  2 2d  of  June,  the  landing  being  completed  the 
next  day. 

The  advance  was  immediatel}^  begun  against  Santiago.  General 
Young’s  brigade  of  cavalry  and  the  famous  “ Rough  Riders,”  who  were 
dismounted  and  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Leonard  Wood  and  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Theodore  Roosevelt,  encountered  a superior  force  of  the 
enemy,  June  24,  near  Sevilla.  The  fight  was  a desperate  one  in  the  heavy 
undergrowth,  where  the  Spaniards  were  hidden  and  used  smokeless  powder. 
But  the  impetuous  dash  of  the  Americans  swept  everything  before  them, 
and  after  the  loss  of  sixteen  killed  and  forty-one  wounded  the}^  drove  the 
enemy  from  their  intrenchments  and  so  far  back  that  the  iVmerican  out- 
posts were  established  within  four  miles  of  the  city. 

The  general  attack  opened  on  July  i.  After  nine  hours  of  hard  fighting 
the  heights  of  El  Caney  and  San  Juan,  overlooking  Santiago,  were  secured, 
the  losses  on  both  sides  being  heavy.  A determined  attempt  was  made  hy 
the  Spaniards,  July  2,  to  retake  San  Juan,  but  they  were  repulsed.  On  the 
following  day,  as  already  narrated,  the  Spanish  fleet  in  the  harbor  made  its 
attempt  to  escape  and  was  destroyed.  On  the  same  day  General  Shafter 
demanded  the  surrender  of  the  city.  It  was  refused  and  the  truce  was  ex- 
tended several  times.  Finally,  on  the  17th  of  the  month,  the  cit}"  of  Santi- 
ago and  the  eastern  province  of  the  same  name  were  formally  surrendered 
to  General  Shafter,  and  the  Stars  and  Stripes  was  hoisted  over  the  palace. 

The  American  campaign  included  the  conquest  of  Porto  Rico,  where 
General  Miles  landed  with  a strong  force  on  the  21st  of  Jul3^  He  met  with 
little  opposition,  most  of  the  inhabitants  receiving  the  Americans  as  liber- 
ators. The  campaign  itself  might  be  well  compared  to  a pic-nic,  so  little 
‘of  real  war  did  it  contain. 

Before  this,  Spain  had  awakened  to  the  folly  of  further  resistance,  and 
through  M.  Cambon,  the  French  Ambassador,  she  asked  President 
IMcKinley,  on  Jul}^  26,  to  name  the  terms  upon  which  our  Government 
would  grant  peace.  The  reply  was  that  Spain  must  relinquish  all  claim  to 
sovereignty  in  Cuba ; cede  Porto  Rico,  but  not  Cuba,  to  the  United  States, 
which  would  hold  Manila  city  and  ba^q  pending  the  settlement  b}'  commis- 
sioners of  the  future  disposition  and  government  of  the  Philippines,  and 
the  cession  of  an  island  in  the  Ladrones. 


300 


THE  S PA AVSH- AMERICAN  WAR 


These  terms  were  accepted  and  tlie  protocol  providing  for  peace  between 
Spain  and  the  United  States  was  signed  in  Washington  August  12.  Fight- 
ing ceased  eveiywliere,  though  before  orders  could  reach  Admiral  Dewe}^ 
he  and  General  hlerritt  had  occupied  the  city  of  Manila.  The  war  had 
lasted  one  hundred  and  fourteen  days  and  the  defeat  of  Spain  was  over- 
whelming and  complete.  She  was  driven  from  her  last  foothold  in  the 
Western  Hemisphere  and  she  deserved  the  punishment,  for  her  rule  had 
been  iniquitous,  bloody,  and  without  the  first  gleam  of  justice  or  right.  The 
conflict  between  the  Latin  and  the  Saxon  proved  that  the  former  must  go  to 
the  wall  and  that  the  hope  of  civilization,  humanity,  and  Christianity  has 
been  placed  by  Heaven  in  the  hands  of  the  Saxon. 

The  United  States  has  more  than  fulfilled  its  early  promise,  during  the 
last  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  received  the  admiring  attention 
of  the  entire  civilized  world.  Benjamin  Harrison,  Republican,  was  Presi- 
dent from  18S9  to  1893,  and  his  administration  was  as  dignified  and  as 
worthy  as  those  of  his  predecessors.  The  principal  events  were  a threat- 
ened war  with  Chile  in  the  autumn  of  1891,  when  a party  of  American 
sailors  from  the  war  steamer  “ Baltimore  ” were  mobbed  in  Valparaiso,  two 
hilled  and  a number  severel}^  wounded.  When  called  to  account,  Chile  at 
first  was  defiant,  but  when  she  was  given  the  choice  of  an  apolog}^  for  her  out- 
rage against  our  flag  and  the  paying  of  an  indemnity  to  the  families  of  the 
sufferers,  or  going  to  war,  she  wisely  chose  the  former  and  the  incident  was 
amicably  closed. 

During  1890  and  1891  there  was  a formidable  uprising  of  the  Indians  in 
the  West,  those  superstitious  people  being  wildty  excited  by  the  “ghost 
dancers,”  who  promised  that  their  hlessiah  was  about  to  come  to  the  earth, 
kill  all  the  white  men,  and  restore  the  hunting  grounds  to  the  red  men.  The 
famous  Sitting  Bull  was  at  the  bottom  of  this  dangerous  outbreak,  and 
while  he  was  resisting  arrest,  was  shot  dead.  In  a battle  with  his  warriors 
near  Wounded  Knee  Creek,  December  28,  1890,  twenty-eight  soldiers  were 
killed  and  thirty  wounded.  Several  skirmishes  followed,  in  which  men  were 
killed  on  both  sides,  but  by  tact  and  excellent  judgment  the  hostiles  were 
induced  to  come  in  and  make  submission,  and  the  grave  peril  was  averted. 

During  the  administration  of  President  Harrison  several  new  States 
were  admitted  to  the  Union.  North  and  South  Dakota  came  in  in  Novem- 
ber, 1889;  Montana,  in  November,  1889,  and  Idaho  and  Wyoming,  in  July, 
1890,  making  ^he  full  number  forty-four. 

Grover  Cleveland  became  President  for  the  second  time  on  March  4, 
1893,  which  year  will  alwa3^s  be  memorable  because  of  the  World’s  Colum- 


THE  SPA  NISH- A ME  RICAN  I VAR 


3G1 


bian  Exposition,  held  in  Chicago,  in  coniinemoration  of  the  discover}^  of 
America  by  Colnmbns.  Congress  appropriated  $10,000,000,  and  the  different 
States  set  apart  liberal  sums  to  insure  the  success  of  the  exposition.  It 
was  open  from  May  i to  November  i,  during  which  the  magnificent  displays 
drew  delighted  visitors  from  every  part  of  the  world.  The  paid  admissions 
were  21,530,854;  the  daily  expenses,  $22,405;  the  average  daily  receipts, 
$89,501,  and  the  total  receipts,  $33,290,065.58,  yielding  a net  profit  of  more 
than  half  a million  dollars. 

Utah  was  admitted  to  the  Union  in  January,  1896.  This  made  the  fotal 
number  of  States  fort^^-five,  with  a population  estimated  in  1900  to  be 
about  76,000,000. 

William  McKinley  was  President  from  1897  to  1901.  An  incident  of 
national  importance  belonging  to  his  administration  was  the  creation  of 
Greater  New  York,”  as  it  is  termed.  By  this  act,  there  were  united  under 
one  government  the  former  metropolis,  Brooklyn,  Long  Island  City, Jamaica, 
all  Staten  Island,  the  western  end  of  Long  Island,  Coney  Island,  Rockaway, 
Valley  Stream,  Flushing,  Whitestone,  College  Point,  Willets’  Point,  Fort 
Schuyler,  Throgg’s  Neck,  Westchester,  Bay  Chester,  Pelham  Manor,  Van 
Cortlandt,  Riverdale,  and  Spuyten  Duyvil.  The  area  of  this  vast  city  is 
about  three  hundred  and  twenty  square  miles,  and  its  population  when  it 
began  its  official  existence,  on  January  i,  1898,  was  about  three  and  a half 
millions.  Judge  Robert  A.  Van  Wyck,  in  the  autumn  of  1897,  elected 
the  first  mayor  of  “ Greater  New  York.” 

The  great  and  memorable  feature  of  President  McKinley’s  first  admin- 
istration was  the  war  with  Spain,  the  particulars  of  which  have  alread}^  been 
given.  During  his  rule  the  country  enjoyed  marked  prosperit}^  and  its 
progress  in  all  that  tends  to  make  a nation  truly  great  has  continued  with- 
out break  or  hindrance.  The  acquisition  of  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philippines 
signaled  the  entrance  of  the  United  States  among  the  colonizing  Powers  of 
the  world,  and  opened  what  may  be  termed  the  era  of  expansion,  which 
formed  one  of  the  principal  issues  in  the  campaign  of  1900.  This  was 
further  shown  during  the  riotous  outbreak  of  the  “ Boxers  ” in  China,  who 
were  treacherously  encouraged  and  aided  by  the  imperial  government  in  their 
frightful  outrages  against  civilization.  To  save  so  far  as  possible  the  lives 
of  their  representatives,  their  missionaries  and  citizens.  Great  Britain, 
Russia,  France,  Germany,  Japan,  and  the  United  States  were  obliged  to  put 
forth  most  active  exertions  against  the  barbarians,  who  respect  no  law,  hate 
“ foreign  devils,”  care  nothing  for  human  life,  and  seize  every  opportunity  to 
loot,  destroy,  and  murder.  All  the  nations  except  our  own  were  incited  by 


362 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  WAR 


the  eagernevSS  to  share  in  the  advantages  to  be  gained  by  the  overthrow  of 
China  and  the  possible  partition  of  the  vast  empire  among  other  Powers. 
The  United  States,  however,  as  in  the  war  with  Spain,  sought  no  personal 
gain,  but  was  impelled  solely  by  her  resolve  to  protect  her  own  citizens  and 
our  national  interests. 

Now  let  ns  glance  at  the  noteworthy  events  that  occurred  across  the  sea 
during  the  last  decade. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  in  1886  Mr.  Gladstone’s  Irish  Home  Rule  Bill 
was  defeated  by  a majority  of  thirty,  after  causing  a rupture  in  the  Liberal 
party  and  the  secession  of  some  of  its  most  prominent  members.  The  whole 
matter  was  then  laid  aside  until  1892,  when  occurred  the  Richard  Pigott 
forgeries  in  the  Times^  the  particulars  of  which  have  already  been  given. 
The  proof  of  Mr.  Parnell’s  personal  immorality  greatly  injured  his  cause. 
In  1893,  Mr.  Gladstone’s  bill  for  the  creation  of  a separate  Irish  parliament 
■was  carried  through  the  Commons  by  a majority  on  the  third  reading  of 
thirty-six,  but  in  the  House  of  Lords  the  matter  was  rejected  by  the  enormous 
vote  of  four  hundred  and  nineteen  to  forty-one.  The  general  election  of 
July,  1895,  gave  a large  “Unionist”  majority  to  Lord  ‘Salisbury  as  Prime 
Minister,  and  the  cause  of  “ repeal  of  the  Union  ” was  placed  on  the  shelf 
for  an  indefinite  period  to  come.  The  next  important  event  in  which  Great 
Britain  became  involved  was  the  wmr  in  South  Africa,  which  has  been  fully 
treated  in  a previous  chapter. 

France  has  been  the  land  of  revolution  and  war,  with  its  government 
embracing  every  possible  form,  and  with  a display  of  vitalit}^  that  is  amaz- 
ing. It  is  now^  and  has  been  for  a number  of  years  an  alleged  republic, 
though  a large  number  of  the  citizens  favor  a monarchical  rule,  and  plotting 
is  always  active,  with  the  possibility  of  an  outbreak  at  any  time.  On  June 
24,  1894,  President  Carnot  was  assassinated  at  Lyon.  The  present  President 
is  Emile  Loubet,  elected  in  February,  1899.  The  rehearing  and  acquittal 
of  Captain  Dre3Tus,  condemned  for  treason  in  Januar}^  1895,  brought  out 
startling  proof  of  the  rottenness  of  French  “ militarism,”  which  permeates 
not  onl}"  civilians  and  officers,  but  has  smirched  judicial  dignit}"  and  impar- 
tialit^q  and  filled  many  of  the  most  ardent  friends  of  the  republic  with  pro- 
found misgiving  of  its  no-distant  fate.  A stream  cannot  rise  higher  than 
its  source,  and  the  fact  that  corruption  honeycombs  the  French  Government, 
almost  from  its  head  to  the  lowest  office  in  the  country,  may  well  make  one 
tremble  when  he  thinks  of  the  future  of  a country  which  for  centuries  has 
held  a foremost  rank  among  the  leading  nations  and  powers  of  the  world. 

It  was  on  Januar}^  18,  1871,  that  the  King  of  Prussia,  in  the  halls  of 


■RATTLK  OF  DUNDEE,  OrTODEE  20,  1S90. 

The  battle  of  was  the  first  battle  of  the  war  in  South  Africa.  The  Hritish  captured  the  position,  but  j)ai(l  dearly  for  the  siicces.'^.  (leueral  Sir  William  Penn  Symons 

was  mortally  wounded,  and  the  Hritish  losses  numbered  43  killed  and  nearly  200  wounded. 


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THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  WAR 


363 


Versailles,  was  hailed  as  the  “ Emperor  of  Germany,”  and  the  nation  now 
is  among  the  leading  European  Powers.  The  present  emperor,  William  II, 
who  came  to  the  throne  in  1888,  is  the  son  of  Frederick  III,  and  is  impulsive, 
but  possessed  of  extraordinary  energy,  versatilit}^,  and  restlessness.  He 
had  the  courage  to  dismiss  grand  old  Bismarck  from  his  counsels  in  1890, 
but  he  has  displa^^ed  a liberality  of  spirit,  tact,  and  vast  natural  ability, 
which  have  compelled  the  admiration  of  enemies  as  well  as  friends.  Ger- 
many, like  France,  has  become  a colonial  power,  and  has  planted  numerous 
important  colonies  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  notably  in  Africa,  in  the 
development  of  which  she  has  acted,  and  doubtless  will  continue  to  act,  a 
leading  part. 

One  of  the  most  noteworthy  features  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  the 
great  advance  of  the  Russian  empire  in  European  and  Asiatic  influence,  a 
result  due  to  the  natural  increase  of  the  people,  the  molding  of  the  enormous 
population  into  an  immense  military  power,  and  the  exercise  of  a diplo- 
macy noted  for  its  persistency,  craft,  and  audacity.  The  present  emperor  or 
czar  is  Nicholas  II,  who  was  crowned  November  2,  1894.  So  powerful  has 
become  the  empire  that  all  other  continental  nations  seek  the  friendship  of 
the  czar  and  are  continually  suspicious  of  his  intentions  and  plans.  In 
Asia,  Russia  has  been  continually  edging  closer  to  the  territory  of  Great 
Britain,  and  many  believe  that  at  no  distant  day  a tremendons  conflict  be- 
tween the  two  Powers  will  open  at  that  point,  and  before  it  closes  draw  the 
other  leading  nations  of  Europe  into  the  awful  maelstrom  of  war. 

Russia  was  strong  enough  at  the  close  of  the  struggle  between  Japan 
and  China  to  interpose  her  mailed  hand  and  stop  Japan  from  reaping  the 
legitimate  fruits  of  her  remarkable  triumph.  For  this  Japan  has  never  for- 
given and  will  never  forgive  her.  Knowing  the  jealousy  between  England 
and  Russia,  the  island  empire  has  steadily  cultivated  the  friendship  of  Great 
Britain  and  will  be  found  on  her  side  when  the  thunderous  shock  of  arms 
takes  place.  As  we  have  intimated,  the  belief  among  intelligent  observers 
is  that  the  next  war  of  importance  will  be  between  Japan  and  Russia,  and  it 
will  be  a colossal  one,  for  the  history  of  no  people  is  more  remarkable  than 
that  of  Japan,  which,  emerging  from  the  gloom  of  ages,  has  made  strides  in 
power,  civilization,  and  material  advancement  that  have  roused  the  wonder- 
ing admiration  of  the  world.  In  1894,  Japan  went  to  war  against  China, 
whose  population  is  ten  times  greater  than  her  own,  and  in  a series  of 
crushing  victories  on  sea  and  land  she  shook  that  musty  old  empire  to 
its  foundation,  and  would  have  tumbled  it  to  fragments  but  for  the  interven- 
tion of  Russia. 


364 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  WAR 


We  have  said  that  Japan  is  a warm  friend  of  England,  but  it  must  be 
added  that  she  has  displayed  an  equally  ardent  liking  for  the  United  States. 
When  Admiral  Dewey  was  pounding  the  Spanish  fleet  to  atoms  in  Manila 
Bay,  the  English  and  Japanese  ships  made  no  secret  of  their  sympathy"  for 
the  great  American  commander,  and  had  the  strained  relations  between  the 
admiral  and  the  German  warships  resulted  in  rupture,  as  was  threatened 
more  than  once,  it  may  be  set  down  as  a certainty  that  the  roar  of  the 
English  and  Japanese  guns  would  have  been  heard  on  the  side  of  the 
American. 

Indeed,  there  are  so  many  similarities  between  the  Japanese  and  our- 
selves that  they  have  been  aptly  called  the  “Yankees  of  the  East.”  They 
are  brave,  intellectual,  progressive,  ingenious,  chivalrous,  far-seeing,  and 
masters  in  the  difficult  art  of  diplomacy,  which  qualities  are  peculiarly 
characteristics  of  the  universal  Yankee  nation  itself. 


As  the  nineteenth  century  moves  to  its  place  among  the  years  that 
have  sunk  into  the  abysm  of  the  ages  we  see  much  that  should  fill  onr 
hearts  with  gratitude  to  Him  who  holds  the  nations  of  the  earth  in  the  hol- 
low of  his  hand. 

The  blood  of  England  is  poured  out  like  water  on  the  plains  of  South 
Africa  and  of  Ashantee,  and  the  empire  itself  is  darkened  by  the  shadows 
of  war  more  gigantic,  more  stupendous,  and  more  momentons  in  its  conse- 
quences and  results  than  any  through  which  she  has  been  compelled  to 
fight  her  way  in  the  crimson  past. 

France  is  restless,  uneasy,  suspicious,  with  the  consciousness  that  some- 
thing of  vital  moment  to  her  is  brooding  in  the  air;  for,  no  matter  what 
form  the  terrific  struggle  may  take,  her  traditions,  her  history,  her  geo- 
graphical position,  and  her  national  temperament  make  it  certain  that  she 
will  be  involved, 

Russia,  vast,  towering,  and  mighty,  is  reaching  out  her  colossal  paw  to 
grasp  forbidden  possessions  and  to  seize  that  which  belongs  to  others.  She 
has  gathered  her  prodigious  energies  to  make  the  leap  which,  after  all,  may 
carry  her  into  the  bottomless  abyss  of  destruction  and  ruin. 

Germany,  Japan,  Italy,  Austria,  and,  to  some  extent,  decrepid  Spain  are 
alert,  watchful,  vigilant,  and  ready  to  bound  into  the  fray  the  instant  their 
interests  are  threatened  or  imperiled,  with  the  probability  that  the  whole 
continent  will  break  into  a conflagration  whose  appalling  horror  will  be  like 
that  which  shall  overwhelm  the  world  when  the  heavens  shall  roll  together 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  WAR 


365 


as  a scroll  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat  and  time  shall 
be  no  more. 

But  with  onr  beloved  country  all  is  substantially  peace,  for  the  flicker- 
ing fires  in  the  Philippines  have  sunk  to  their  last  expiring  embers,  and  the 
future  is  radiant  with  hope,  with  the  promise  of  prosperity,  advancing  civil- 
ization, and  Christianity  and  in  all  that  makes  a nation  truly  great  and 
happy. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

(TENTH  DECADE) 

AFRICA — AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


[INTRODUCTION  By  PAUL  B.  Du  CHAIDDU] 

IN  1857,  when  but  a lad,  I left  New  York  on  my  first  visit  to  Equatorial 
Africa,  and  the  “Unknown  and  Dark  Continent”  w^as  then  worthy  of 
its  name.  It  was,  in  fact,  the  great,  irresistible  Pandora’s  box  of  the 
world  for  all  men  stirred  by  the  fires  of  unrest  that  must  ever  animate  the 
true  explorer  and  drive  him  from  his  home.  I was  one  of  several  men  at 
that  time  lost  in  the  pathless  new  lands  of  an  unknown  continent,  and 
the  first  white  man  who  had  ever  set  foot  in  those  vast  dark  seas  of  ever- 
lasting foliage  known  as  the  Great  Forest  of  Equatorial  Africa. 

Mediterranean  Africa  had  been  known  at  the  beginning  of  authentic 
history  and  farther  back  in  the  realm  of  myth.  The  Nile  had  been  a cradle 
for  man,  feeding  him  with  its  semi-yearl}^  crop  before  he  knew  how  to  feed 
himself,  but  not  until  the  fifteenth  century  was  any  attempt  made  to  scale 
the  black  walls  of  difficulty  and  mystery  that  had  bound  in  the  Greater 
Africa  from  all  time.  The  Portuguese,  eager  to  reach  the  Indies,  circum- 
navigated Africa.  In  1497,  Vasco  da  Gama  discovered  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  but  he  passed  on,  content  roughly  to  outline  the  coast  and  seek  his 
goal.  His  charts  and  discoveries  were  noted,  however,  b}^  the  Dutch,  and 
after  nearly  two  hundred  years  of  continued  effort,  they,  seeing  the  great 
advantage  of  holding  the  Cape,  the  key  to  the  new  continent,  settled  the 
southern  extremity  of  Africa  in  1652. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  century  now  closing.  Central  and  Southern 
Africa  remained  a sealed  country.  Perhaps  the  wonders  of  the  Americas 
(discovered  b}^  Columbus  but  five  years  before  Vasco  da  Gama  doubled  the 
African  Cape)  had  held  the  world’s  attention  to  the  West  rather  than  to  the 
East. 

The  Dutch  at  the  Cape  were  almost  undisturbed  until  the  wars  of  the 
French  Revolution  and  the  Empire.  In  1815  the  Netherlands  ceded  all 

366 


PAUL  B.  DU  CHAILLU, 

Noted  Geographer  and  Explorer, 

Contributes  the  introductory  article  in  this  volume  on  “ Africa  and  the  British-Boer  War.” 


BATTLE  OF  MODDEB  BIVEB,  NOVEMBER  28,  1899. 

On  November  28,1899,  Oeneral  Methuen’s  third  battle  was  fought  with  about  11,000  Boers  of  General  Cronje,  at  Modder  River,  twenty-five  miles  from  Kimberley.  It  wa.s  a 
ten-hours’  fight,  without  Muiter  or  food,  under  a burning  sun.  The  Boers,  had  a strong  ])Osition  well  protected  in  rifle  pits,  which  they  held  against  the  English,  who  fought  withoiu 
cover  and  with  great  gallantry.  The  British  had  76  killed,  388  wounded,  and  7 -missing,  and  did  not  advance  one  rod  nearer  their  objective  point. 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


337 


claim  to  this  possession  to  the  British  Crown,  and  the  now  famous  Transvaal 
was  the  result  of  Boer  discontent  with  English  rule.  The  Boers  migrated 
north  in  1836.  They  drove  out  the  natives  from  the  valle}^  across  the  Vaal 
River,  and  settled  in  this  land — the  Trans-Vaal. 

Pretorius,  with  whose  name  all  are  now  familiar,  became  the  first  Presi- 
dent of  the  republic,  officially  known  as  the  South  African  Republic,  now 
in  alliance  with  the  other  Dutch  republic,  the  Orange  Free  State. 

Politically  a great  centre  of  interest  has  been  reached  in  Africa,  but  is 
the  world  awake  to  the  broad  importance  of  the  issue  ? America  was  dis- 
covered, then  won  inch  by  inch  from  savagery  and  primeval  wastes.  It  is 
spanned  now  from  coast  to  coast  by  rail,  and  belted  with  .wires. 

What  of  Africa  ? Its  skirts  are  fringed  with  the  colonial  possessions  of 
several  nations,  and  upon  some  of  its  large  rivers  settlements  of  the  white 
man  are  fast  multiplying,  and  the  sight  of  steamers  descending  or  ascending 
their  waters  is  not  uncommon.  Through  its  central  region  are  great  forests, 
high  mountains  and  plateaus,  and  large  lakes.  There  are  numerous  tribes 
of  cannibals  with  whom  I came  in  contact,  and  from  whom  I was  probably 
saved  through  their  belief  that  I was  a spirit,  and  the  dwarf  race  of  Homer 
were  found  and  seen  again  by  me.  Living  in  the  depths  of  the  forest, 
wild  as  deer,  nomadic  in  the  extreme,  these  tiny  people  do  exist.  They 
make  leafy,  tiny  huts  ; they  live  chiefly  as  monkeys,  apes,  and  squirrels  do, 
on  nuts,  berries,  and  fruits  ; they  trap  game  when  they  are  fortunate ; they 
make  fires  ; they  are  men,  though  they  seem  more  like  the  apes  of  the 
country  in  their  habits.  They  fear  the  bigger  man  as  well  as  the  gorilla. 

The  beast  of  burden  is  absent.  Man  does  his  work  with  his  own  hands. 
The  only  true  domestic  creatures  there  are  the  goat,  sheep,  and  fowl.  As  I 
penetrated  the  interior  deeper  and  deeper  the  fowls  disappeared  and  the 
goats  increased  in  number. 

It  is  a land  where  there  are  great  plateaus  and  huge  mountain  ranges. 
I myself,  near  the  Ogobay  River,  discovered  a mountain  nearl}^  ten  thousand 
feet  high.  Through  its  forest  and  jungle  I traveled  alone,  always  on  foot, 
for  there  are  no  animals  to  ride.  With  scientific  instruments  and  goods  to 
buy  my  way,  I depended  on  the  friendliness  of  the  people  that  I met,  living 
now  with  this  tribe,  now  with  that,  sharing  their  huts,  their  food,  adopting 
their  habits  and  customs,  and  learning  their  languages  as  best  I could. 

No  roads  traverse  those  interior  lands.  The  villages  and  settlements 
of  the  various  tribes,  often  separated  by  wide,  desolate  tracts  of  uninhabited 
country,  are  connected  by  narrow  and  tortuous  paths.  These  are  the  only 
avenues  of  communication.  Branching  from  them  are  occasional  hunting 


368 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


paths,  which  frequently  lose  themselves  after  a score  of  miles,  or  come  to  an 
abrupt  termination.  Woe  betide  the  man  who,  without  guide  or  knowledge 
of  the  paths,  should  lose  himself  in  this  inextricable  labyrinth  ! 

The  large  leopard  roams  here  and  there  through  the  dark  forest,  and  is 
the  dread  of  the  natives  when  he  becomes  a man-eater. 

The  elephants  also  traverse  the  country  in  large  herds,  but  they  are 
growing  less  every  year,  because  of  the  large  numbers  killed,  and  the 
disappearance  of  the  huge  beast  seems  to  be  only  a matter  of  time. 

Rarely  or  never  are  large  droves  of  wild  animals  found,  for  this  immense 
primitive  forest  is  not  suited  to  their  mode  of  living. 

The  gorilla  has  his  home  in  the  great  equatorial  forest,  and  he  is  king 
of  his  domain,  where  only  can  he  live.  I have  faced  many  and  many  of 
them,  and  in  the  male  have  never  seen  the  slightest  sign  of  fear.  He  ex- 
pects to  crush,  to  win  by  right  of  force,  wherever  his  opponent  is  less  for- 
midable than  another  of  his  own  race.  The  roar  of  the  gorilla  is  the  most 
singular  and  awful  noise  ever  heard  in  the  African  forest.  Like  the  sharp 
bark  of  a furious  dog  it  begins,  and  ends  in  a deep  bass  roll,  which  literally 
and  closely  resembles  the  roll  of  distant  thunder  along  the  sky,  for  which  I 
have  sometimes  mistaken  it.  So  deep  is  it  that  it  seems  to  proceed  less  from 
the  mouth  and  throat  than  from  the  deep  chest  and  vast  pouch  of  this 
African  jungle  king. 

These  are  but  a few  of  the  strange  things  that  one  may  see  and  experi- 
ence within  the  mystic  silence  of  the  forest  and  jungle  land  of  unknown 
Africa,  toward  the  borders  of  which  the  eyes  of  civilized  men  are  turned  to- 
day. But  what  of  its  promise  as  a good  land,  waiting  for  the  occupation 
of  the  white  man  ? 

In  this  unknown  region  vast  mineral  and  metallic  deposits  are  hidden 
under  a very  rich  soil.  The  natives,  possessed  of  but  crude  methods  and 
implements,  have  learned  to  take  iron  from  the  ore,  with  which  to  fashion 
weapons.  Of  the  diamond  mines  of  Kimberley  I need  make  no  mention. 
Gold  is  found  in  many  districts. 

There  are  few  unproductive  belts  in  the  whole  continent.  The  two 
great  deserts,  the  Sahara  to  the  north  and  the  Kalahari  to  the  south  of  the 
great  equatorial  Africa,  are  the  largest.  There  are  vast  quantities  of  nutri- 
tious and  commercially  valuable  trees,  plants,  shrubs,  and  roots.  After  the 
explorer  must  come  the  true  settler,  who  shall  force  nature  to  yield  to  man. 

Alexander  should  have  no  cause  to  cry  as  the  world  stands  to-day,  for 
let  this  lamentable  war  in  the  Transvaal  terminate  as  it  may,  Africa  has  yet 
to  be  conquered,  yet  to  be  gained.  Alen  of  daring  and  men  of  hope  have 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


369 


yet  a field  there  that  promises  almost  measureless  advantages  and  rewards 
to  the  human  race. 

He  who  reaches  out  to  the  North  Pole  seeks  a finality,  a confirmation, 
blit  he  who  plunges  into  the  African  vastnesses  strives  to  bring  a mighty 
land  to  usefulness,  seeks  to  bring  about  the  beginning  of  a career  that  has 
a future  beyond  estimate. 

The  latest  to  develop,  who  knows  but  that  parts  of  Africa  shall  be  the 
longest  to  reign  and  flourish  ? 

The  nature  of  the  prize  is  apparent.  Nations  must  and  will  wrestle 
with  one  another  over  the  right  to  control  this  great  promised  land. 

Africa  ranks  next  to  Asm  in  size,  contains  the  hottest  regions  on  the 
globe,  lying  mainl}^  in  the  Torrid  Zone,  has  a coast  line  with  few  indenta- 
tions, and  is  noted  for  its  deserts  and  barbarous  races.  Its  area  is  11,733,834 
square  miles,  and  its  estimated  population  200,000,000.  It  is  a vast 
plateau  from  a quarter  of  a mile  to  a mile  high,  and  is  surrounded  by  a belt 
of  marshy,  nnhealthfnl  land  whose  width  varies  from  a few  miles  to  two 
hundred.  The  sickl}^  climate  has  caused  the  death  of  maii}^  thousands  of 
unacclimated  persons. 

Africa  is  the  driest  of  all  the  continents,  but  it  contains  a number  of 
large  rivers,  such  as  the  Nile,  the  Niger,  the  Congo,  and  the  Zambesi,  while 
Lakes  Victoria  Nyanza  and  Albert  Nyanza  (both  drained  b}"  the  Nile)  are 
among  the  largest  in  the  world. 

The  equatorial  regions  are  fertile  and  display  an  abundance  of  exu- 
berant tropical  vegetation.  North  and  south  of  them  are  prairies  and  grass 
lands,  and  north  and  south  again  are  the  dry  regions  of  the  Sahara  and 
Kalahari,  while  beyond  these,  in  the  extreme  north  and  south,  a degree  of 
fertility  exists  which  is  surpassed  nowhere  else  in  the  world. 

Africa  has  been  called  the  hunter’s  paradise,  for  among  the  numerous 
fauna  are  the  elephant,  the  rhinoceros,  the  lion,  the  leopard,  the  crocodile, 
the  hippopotamus,  the  chimpanzee,  with  its  startling  resemblance  to  our- 
selves, and  the  gorilla,  whose  habitat  is  under  the  equator  and  whose  as- 
tounding strength  and  ferocity  make  him  the  most  terrible  inhabitant  of  the 
suffocating  woods.  Besides,  the  stupid  ostrich,  the  striped  zebra,  the  long- 
necked giraffe,  and  the  swift-footed  antelope  and  gnu  wander  over  the 
plains.  The  greatest  plague  of  Central  and  South  Africa  is  the  tsetse  fly, 
which  resembles  our  ordinary  housefl^q  but  its  bite  is  fatal  to  horses  and  often 
to  cattle,  though  harmless  to  man.  In  man}^  regions,  therefore,  the  natives 
alone  can  serve  as  bearers  of  burdens.  It  is  worth  noting  that  the  tiger,  the 
most  dreaded  denizen  of  the  Asiatic  jungle,  does  not  exist  in  Africa. 


370 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


Northern  Africa  is  inhabited  by  Berbers,  Arabs  or  Moors,  and  Egyp- 
tians, and  Soudan  and  the  region  south  by  negroes,  whose  real  home  is  the 
Dark  Continent.  A few  of  them  have  attained  a considerable  degree  of  civ- 
ilization, but  nearly  all  are  ignorant  and  degraded.  The  Hottentots,  whose 
language  resembles  the  clucking  of  hens,  seem  to  have  descended  to  the 
lowest  degrees  of  barbarism,  and  are  the  dirtiest  and  among  the  feeblest, 
intellectually,  of  any  people  in  the  world. 

Our  attention  is  to  be  directed  to  South  Africa,  .whose  aborigines 
were  yellowish-brown  pygmies,  who  made  no  attempt  to  cultivate  the 
soil  and  whose  only  domestic  animal  was  the  dog.  They  lived  by  the 
chase  and  upon  plants,  hone}^,  and  locusts,  with  a preference  for  carrion. 
Of  course  among  such  people  the  only  pretense  of  government  was  of 
the  parental  form,  and  that  scarcely  deserved  the  name.  What  made 
them  foes  to  be  dreaded  was  the  fact  that  the  arrows  of  their  feeble  bows 
were  tipped  with  deadly  poison,  which  rendered  the  slightest  wound 
speedily  fatal. 

These  people  were  called  Bushmen,  and  were  more  degraded,  if  pos- 
sible, than  the  Hottentots,  who  also  lived  in  South  Africa.  Many  supposed 
they  were  branches  of  the  same  stock,  but  it  is  now  believed  that  such  is 
not  the  fact,  though  no  one  as  yet  has  been  able  to  tell  where  the}^  came 
from  and  how  they  succeeded  in  reaching  South  Africa. 

The  number  of  Hottentots  was  always  few,  and  they  lived  upon  the 
strip  of  land  near  the  coast  and  along  the  banks  of  the  Orange  River  and 
some  of  its  tributaries.  They  were  eternally  fighting  the  Bushmen,  but 
something  of  an  amalgamation,  due  to  conquest,  took  place  between  the 
two  peoples  in  the  region  of  the  lower  Vaal.  As  has  been  stated,  the  filthi- 
ness of  the  people  was  almost  incredible ; and  yet,  degraded  as  they  were, 
they  have  been  found  capable  of  improvement.  It  is  said  that  while  down 
to  the  present  time  no  real  Bushman  has  permanently  adopted  civilized 
habits,  a good  many  Hottentots  have  done  so,  and  the  missionary  labors 
among  them  have  met  with  encouraging  results. 

The  most  interesting  people,  before  the  arrival  of  white  men,  were  the 
Bantus,  who  were  stalwart  and  well  formed,  cultivated  the  ground,  and  had 
a surprising  knowledge  of  metallurgy  and  an  excellent  system  of  govern- 
ment. The  home  of  this  family  was  Central  Africa,  extending  from  the 
Indian  Ocean  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Thousands  of  them  worked  their  way 
southward,  and  a short  time  after  the  settlement  of  our  Virginia  colon}^  a 
large  number  of  Bantus  made  their  home  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Orange 
River  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kei  River. 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


371 


They  were  continually  at  war,  but  pol3'gamy  was  encouraged,  and  as 
no  people  in  the  world  were  more  prolific,  iiieu  were  born  faster  than  they 
were  killed.  They  soon  became  the  dominant  people  of  South  Africa. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  region  claiming  our  attention  was  peopled 
by  three  distinct  tribes — the  Hottentots,  the  Bushmen,  and  the  Bantus.  All 
were  content  with  their  lot,  enjoyed  life  in  their  own  way,  and  but  for  the 
never-ending  wars  would  have  been  perfectly  happy,  though  even  those 
wars  were  welcome  excitement  to  multitudes  of  young  men,  who,  like  their 
civilized  brothers,  thirsted  for  adventure  and  glor^". 

Such  was  South  Africa  when,  one  da}^  in  i486,  Bartholomew  Diaz 
sailed  away  from  Portugal  to  hunt  for  a water  route  to  India.  Following  the 
western  coast  of  Africa  to  the  south,  he  finally  dropped  anchor  in  an  inlet, 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Angra  Pequena,  or  Little  Bay,  by  which  it  is 
still  known.  All  that  could  be  seen  of  the  countiy  was  a sandy  waste,  with 
no  sign  of  a living  person.  Diaz  set  up  a cross,  as  a sign  of  possession,  in 
the  name  of  his  king,  and  resumed  his  voyage. 

He  aimed,  as  he  had  done  from  the  first,  to  keep  in  sight  of  land,  but 
he  was  caught  in  a violent  tempest  and  driven  southward  for  nearly  a fort- 
night, with  no  knowledge  of  his  whereabouts.  Unable  to  sight  land  by 
sailing  eastward,  he  believed  he  had  passed  around  the  end  of  the  continent, 
or  entered  the  immense  Gulf  of  Guinea.  If  either  were  the  fact,  the  only 
Way  by  which  he  could  reach  shore  was  to  change  his  course  to  the  north, 
which  he  did. 

When  he  once  more  caught  sight  of  land,  he  observed  that  its  trend  was 
to  the  eastward.  Natives  were  seen,  but  at  sight  of  the  ships  the}"  made  all 
haste  to  drive  their  large  droves  of  cattle  inland,  and  would  have  nothing 
to  do  with  the  white  men,  who  tried  to  open  communication  with  them. 
Still  coasting  eastward,  Diaz  set  up  a cross  on  an  islet  in  Algoa  Bay,  be- 
cause of  which  the  islet  was  named  Santa  Cruz.  Two  days  more  the  navi- 
gator sailed,  when  his  men  refused  to  go  further,  and  he  turned  the  prow 
of  his  ship  howeward. 

On  this  voyage  a high,  rocky  headland  was  discovered,  to  which  Diaz 
gave  the  name  Cape  of  Storms,  which,  however.  King  John  of  Portugal 
renamed  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  one  of  the  most  famous  headlands  in  the 
world. 

Some  five  years  after  Christopher  Columbus  sailed  from  Palos,  Spain, 
with  his  three  caravels,  on  the  wonderful  voyage  which  resulted  in  the  dis- 
covery of  a New  World,  the  famous  navigator,  Vasco  da  Gama,  in  command 
of  four  small  vessels,  started  to  follow  up  the  discovery  made  by  Diaz.  The 


372 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


vessels  were  manned  with  one  hundred  and  sixty  marines,  and  the  date  of 
their  departure  was  July  9,  1497.  It  was  this  expedition  that  discovered 
the  route  to  the  East  Indies  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Reaching  the 
eastern  coast  of  Africa,  in  the  beginning  of  the  following  year.  Da  Gama 
held  his  course  straight  toward  the  coast  of  Malabar,  and  in  May  arrived  at 
Calient,  a city  inhabited  by  Hindoos,  where  the  king  had  his  residence. 

He  returned  to  Lisbon  two  years  and  two  months  after  leaving  that 
city.  The  report  of  his  expedition  promised  such  splendid  results  that 
the  King  of  Portugal  sent  him  out  in  1502  in  charge  of  twenty  ships.  The 
king  at  Calicut  attacked  him  with  his  fleet,  but  was  defeated,  and  Da  Gama 
took  back  thirteen  valuable  captures.  But  the  new  route  to  India  was  open, 
and  fleets  passed  back  and  forth  every  year.  In  time  the  Indian  seas  fell 
wholly  under  the  dominion  of  Portugal,  and  a vast  and  lucrative  trade  was 
established.  Now  and  then  an  attempt  was  made  to  land  somewhere  on  the 
South  African  coast,  or  it  happened  that  a vessel  would  be  driven  upon  land 
by  stress  of  weather.  At  such  times  there  was  generally  a sanguinary 
fight,  so  that  during  the  early  years  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  Portuguese 
had  as  little  to  do  as  possible  with  the  hostile  people  near  the  southern  end 
of  the  continent.  They  preferred  to  put  in  at  St.  Helena  (discovered  in 
1502),  and  rarel}^  stopped  at  any  port  south  of  Sofala,  while  no  attempt  was 
made  to  form  a station  south  of  Delagoa  Bay.  Consequently,  the  interior 
of  the  country  south  of  the  tropic  was  wholly  unknown. 

The  reader  of  American  history  will  recall  that  Portugal  took  no  part 
in  the  general  scramble  that  followed  the  discovery  of  the  New  World.  Her 
interest  was  centred  in  India  and  South  Africa,  and  she  was  quite  content 
to  leave  Spain,  France,  England,  and  Holland  to  fight  it  out  among  them- 
selves, so  long  as  she  remained  free  to  fill  her  lap  with  the  treasures  from 
the  Indies. 

Now,  nothing  could  be  more  inevitable  than  that  other  European  nations 
should  soon  turn  their  attention  to  India.  Before  long,  English,  French, 
and  Dutch  ships  trailed  after  those  of  Portugal  in  the  new  route  to  that 
country.  The  Cape  of  Good  Hope  was  passed  by  Drake  and  Candish  when 
returning  from  their  famous  voyages  around  the  world,  but  they  did  not  land 
on  the  African  coast.  In  July,  1591,  three  English  ships  put  into  Table 
Bay  on  their  voyage  to  India,  and  that  was  the  first  time  the  British  flag  was 
seen  in  what  was  distinctly  African  waters.  The  natives  were  treated  kindly 
and  considerable  barter  was  had  with  them.  One  of  the  three  ships  was 
lost  at  sea,  another  passed  on  to  India,  while  the  third  returned  to  England. 

In  1601  the  first  fleet  of  the  East  India  Company  called  on  its  outward 


THE  BATTLE  OF  ELANDSLAAGTE. 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


373 


passage  at  Table  Bay,  and  thereafter  it  became  a common  practice  for  other 
British  ships  to  do  the  same,  for  they  had  no  difficulty  in  procuring  all  the 
cattle  they  needed  from  the  natives. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  at  that  time  Holland  was  one  of  the  leading 
commercial  nations  of  Europe.  She  was  engaged  in  a struggle  for  freedom 
against  the  powerful  and  tyrannical  Spanish  monarchy.  The  Northern 
Netherlands  became  a free  republic,  but  Poitugal  coming  under  Spanish 
dominion,  the  Dutch  were  excluded  from  Lisbon,  which  fact  caused  their 
enterprising  merchants  to  turn  their  attention  to  India.  In  1595,  four  of 
their  ships  passed  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  halted  at  Mossel  Bay,  where 
considerable  trade  was  had  with  the  natives. 

Upon  the  return  of  this  expedition  several  towns  of  the  Netherlands 
formed  companies  for  trading  with  the  Indies.  They  met  with  much  success, 
and  gave  the  names  to  Fish,  Flesh,  and  Mossel  Bays,  but  the  Dutchmen  made 
no  new  discoveries.  All  of  these  small  companies  acted  independently,  and 
therefore  accomplished  far  less  than  if  united  under  one  general  corporation. 

Because  of  this  state  of  affairs,  the  States-General  of  Holland  took  a 
wise  and  important  step  by  joining  all  of  the  weak  companies  into  one  great 
corporation,  with  extended  powers  and  numerous  privileges.  On  the  2otli 
of  March,  1602,  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  was  chartered  at  The 
Hague,  with  almost  sovereign  functions,  about  the  only  limitation  being  the 
provision  that  its  actions  could  be  reviewed  by  the  States-General.  It  could 
enlist  troops,  build  fortifications,  make  treaties  with  Indian  governments,  and 
appoint  civil  and  military  officers.  Its  chambers  were  established  at  Amster- 
dam, Middleburg,  Rotterdam,  Enkhuizen,  and  Hoorn,  and  the  subscribed 
capital  amounted  to  a sum  almost  equal  to  three  million  dollars.  Seventeen 
directors  had  general  control,  and  its  affairs  were  conducted  with  such 
prudence  and  skill  that  its  profits  assumed  enormous  proportions.  There 
was  a continual  procession  of  Dutch  ships  passing  Cape  of  Good  Hope  both 
ways,  and  they  lost  little  time  in  seizing  as  legitimate  spoils  of  war  the 
Portuguese  factories,  ships,  and  possessions  of  every  kind. 

The  Dutch  Company  in  1619  received  a proposal  from  the  English 
corporation  to  unite  with  them  in  building  a fort  and  establishing  a station 
in  South  Africa.  The  proposition  was  declined,  whereupon  each  company 
decided  to  build  such  a station  for  itself  In  the  following  year  two  English 
captains,  acting  under  orders,  fixed  upon  Table  Bay  for  the  location  of  the 
station,  and  proclaimed  the  adjoining  country  under  the  sovereignty  of 
their  king.  The  English  directors,  however,  gave  up  the  enterprise 
and  continued  to  use  St.  Helena  as  their  stopping  place  for  supplies. 


374 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


The  Dutch  directors  also  allowed  their  plan  of  forming  a station  to  fall 
through,  although  they  kept  up  the  practice  of  stopping  at  Table  Bay,  and 
it  may  be  said  retained  nominal  possession. 

An  apparently  insignificant  incident  occurred  in  the  early  part  of  1648, 
but  it  was  fraught  with  important  consequences.  A Dutch  ship  that  had 
put  into  Table  Bay  was  driven  ashore  at  Blueberg  Beach.  The  crew  not 
only  succeeded  in  landing  safely,  but  saved  their  effects.  Liking  the  ap- 
pearance of  Table  Valley,  they  removed  thither  and  put  up  a number  of 
huts  upon  the  present  site  of  Cape  Town.  Seeds  were  planted  and  thrived 
vigorously,  and  such  an  acceptable  barter  was  had  with  the  natives  that  the 
Dutchmen  came  to  look  upon  their  seeming  misfortune  as  the  best  thing 
that  could  have  befallen  them.  They  sta^^ed  half  a year,  when,  feeling 
homesick,  they  went  on  board  one  of  their  ships  that  had  stopped  there  and 
returned  to  Holland. 

The  men  upon  reaching  home  made  a glowing  report  of  their  experi- 
ence, and  two  of  the  officers  urged  upon  the  directors  of  the  Dutch  East 
India  Company  to  establish  a station  in  Table  Valley.  The  directors  were 
favorably  impressed,  and  it  was  decided  to  carry  out  the  proposal,  for 
which  purpose  three  vessels  were  loaded  with  proper  material  and  sent  to 
South  Africa.  One  of  the  wisest  things  done  by  the  company  was  the 
appointment  of  Surgeon  Jan  van  Riebeck  as  commander  of  the  station.  He 
was  honest,  prudent,  and  industrious,  and  had  previously  visited  Table 
Bay,  so  that  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  promising  prospects  of  a sta- 
tion in  that  region. 

The  Dutchman  is  always  deliberate,  and,  as  usual,  the  company  moved 
slowly.  It  was  not  the  intention  to  plant  a colony  at  Table  Bay,  but 
simply  a refreshment  station  for  the  fleets  passing  to  and  from  India,  and  it 
was  not  until  the  latter  part  of  1651  that  the  three  vessels  sailed  from 
Texel  for  South  Africa,  where  they  arrived  in  April  of  the  following  year. 

The  progress  of  the  Dutch  colony  at  the  Cape  was  slow  because  of  the 
t^wannical  rule  of  the  company,  but  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  in 
1688,  by  Louis  XIV,  brought  a most  excellent  accession  of  emigrants  in 
some  three  hundred  Huguenot  refugees,  the  ancestors  of  most  of  the 
present  South  African  Dutch,  or  “i\fricanders.”  In  the  course  of  the  follow- 
ing century  they  began  occupying  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  interior,  most 
of  them  being  laid  out  as  “ cattle-runs.”  The  palmy  days  of  the  Dutch 
supremacy  ended  in  1771,  when  the  admirable  Governor  Tulbagh  died. 
The  slaves  were  treated  with  great  harshness,  the  Bushmen  and  Hottentots 
were  hunted  down  and  made  to  act  as  servants,  and  prosperity  and  freedom 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


(O 


came  to  an  end.  A capitulation  was  forced  by  a British  expedition  in  1795, 
but  the  treaty  of  Amiens  restored  the  property  in  1802.  A census  made  a 
short  time  afterward  showed  that  the  colonists  of  European  descent,  exclud- 
ing several  thousand  Dutch  troops,  was  about  twent3^-six  thousand,  in  ad- 
dition to  thirty  thousand  slaves  and  twent}^  thousand  Bushmen,  Hottentots, 
and  half-breeds,  who  were  in  a state  of  servitude.  Some  improvement  took 
place  during  the  seven  years  of  British  occupation,  from  1795  to  1802.  In 
January,  1806,  a British  expedition  defeated  the  Dutch  troops,  whose  pos- 
session of  the  colony  was  confirmed  in  1815  by  the  congress  of  Vienna. 

Thenceforward  the  colony  made  steady  progress.  Graham’s  Town 
was  founded  in  1812,  and  in  1820  and  1821  four  thousand  settlers  landed  in 
Algoa  Bay  and  founded  Port  Elizabeth.  In  1833  the  act  abolishing  slavery 
throughout  the  British  colonial  dominions,  with  compensation,  went  into 
effect,  to  the  intense  indignation  of  the  Dutch  boers,”  or  farmers,  who 
complained  of  the  small  amount  awarded.  In  1835  a series  of  Kafir 
wars  ” broke  out,  and  were  accompanied  by  an  invasion  of  the  colony  on 
the  southeastern  frontier.  The  invaders  were  forced  to  submit  and  pay 
compensation  for  the  losses  of  the  settlers,  the  indemnity  consisting  of  a 
thousand  horses  and  many  thousand  cattle.  Hostilities  continued  at  inter- 
vals, and  Sir  Harry  Smith,  as  Governor  and  High  Commissioner,  in  1847 
proclaimed  British  rule  over  the  region  between  the  Kei  and  the  Keiskama 
Rivers  as  British  Kafraria.” 

The  long  and  costly  contest  opened  a new  era  for  Cape  Colony.  In  Jul}^, 
1854,  the  first  Parliament  met  at  Cape  Town,  and  Sir  George  Gre}^,  one  of 
the  ablest  of  British  colonial  governors,  was  installed.  His  eight  years’ 
administration  was  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  country.  In  1875  the  pop- 
lation  was  more  than  720,000,  of  whom  about  237,000  were  of  European 
descent. 

In  1877,  Sir  Bartle  Frere  arrived  as  High  Commissioner,  and  his  per- 
emptor}^  demand  for  the  disbanding  of  Cetewayo’s  large  native  arm}"  caused 
the  Zulu  w^ar,  which  was  marked  by  a number  of  British  defeats  and  massa- 
.cres,  in  the  course  of  which  the  ^"oung  Prince  Imperial  of  France,  who  was 
serving  in  the  British  army,  lost  his  life.  The  principal  incidents  were  the 
disastrous  British  defeat  at  Isandula ; the  desperate  defense  of  Rorke’s 
Drift,  on  the  Tugela  River;  the  British  victory  in  July,  1879,  at  Ulundi, 
and  the  capture  of  the  brave  Zulu  chieftain  Cetewayo.  In  the  following  year 
Kafir  territory,  including  Fingoland,  was  annexed  and  Griqualand  West 
was  made  a part  of  the  colony. 

In  1836  the  Dutch  Boers  made  their  “ great  trek,”  or  removal,  from 


376 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


Cape  Colony  to  the  Transvaal,  where  they  formed  a republic.  Matters  were 
anything  but  prosperous  when  in  1878  the  British  Government,  against  the 
Avishes  of  the  people,  annexed  the  territory.  The  Dutch  rebelled  at  the 
close  of  1880  and  astonished,  not  only  England,  but  the  world,  by  their  exhi- 
bition of  bravery  and  skill.  Having  made  their  homes  in  a region  where 
they  had  to  be  continually  on  the  alert  against  savages  and  the  fiercest  of 
wild  animals,  the}^  developed  an  amazing  skill  in  marksmanship.  Moreover, 
the}^  had  among  them  men  of  great  military  ability,  and  all  were  passion- 
ately devoted  to  their  homes.  Those  plodding,  sturdy  Dutch  farmers  read 
little  besides  their  Bibles,  believed  in  “ Oom  Paul  ” Kruger,  their  President, 
and  were  ready  at  any  hour  or  moment  to  give  up  their  lives  for  their  re- 
ligion and  principles. 

The  British  regulars  got  more  than  one  taste  of  Boer  mettle,  for  they 
suffered  defeats  of  the  most  decisive  nature,  and  in  some  instances,  as  at 
Majuba  Hill,  these  were  administered  by  inferior  forces  of  the  enemy. 
England  concluded  that  the  contract  was  too  extensive  and  withdrew  from 
the  contest.  The  Transvaal  Republic  was  re-established,  about  the  only 
condition  affecting  England  being  the  agreement  of  the  Boers  that  they 
would  not  make  a treaty  with  any  foreign  nation  without  the  approval  of  the 
same  by  Great  Britain. 

More  territory  was  annexed  in  1885,  and  in  1890  the  indomitable  and 
ambitious  Cecil  J.  Rhodes  became  Premier.  His  great  aim  is  to  extend 
British  dominion,  and  he  shrinks  from  no  means  to  accomplish  that  end. 
All  our  readers  will  recall  the  disastrous  raid  of  which  he  Avas  the  instigator 
in  1895,  when  Dr.  Jameson  made  his  attempt  to  turn  the  country  over  to 
British  rule,  but  with  most  disastrous  consequences  to  himself  and  the  band, 
v/ho  Avere  defeated  and  made  prisoners. 

By  this  time  there  were  a good  many  British  residents  in  the  Trans- 
vaal, and  their  demagogic  leaders  and  aspiring  members  began  plotting  to 
gain  control  of  the  Government.  Since  these  Uitlanders,  as  they  Avere 
termed,  had  to  live  a number  of  years  in  the  Transvaal  in  order  to  acquire 
the  right  to  vote,  the  Boers  had  little  trouble  in  retaining  power  in  their 
own  hands.  It  is  impossible  to  think  there  Avould  have  been  any  serious 
quarrel  had  not  gold  been  discovered  in  the  Rand.  It  Avas  not  long  before 
the  astounding  truth  came  to  light  that  the  region  is  the  richest  gold-bearing 
district  that  has  been  discovered  since  creation.  It  is  said  that  within  an 
area  of  fifty  miles  of  the  public  square  in  Johannesburg  $800,000,000  has 
been  taken  from  the  ground,  and  it  is  estimated  that  at  least  the  incredible 
amouiit  of  $4,000,000,000  aAvaits  extraction.  Such  being  the  situation,  all 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


377 


acquainted  with  England’s  colonial  policy  foresaw  an  inevitable  war,  in 
which  these  iniinense  treasures  would  form  the  real  prize. 

In  1894  and  1895  territoiy  of  Cape  Colony  had  expanded  into  a 
region  eight  times  the  area  of  England.  Growing  dissatisfaction  with  the 
rigid  rule  of  President  Kruger  led  to  the  preparing  of  a petition  which 
was  sent  to  England.  This  petition  was  signed  by  21,000  British  sub- 
jects living  at  or  near  Johannesburg,  and  complained  of  the  broken  prom- 
ises of  President  Kruo^er  to  gfrant  reform  and  the  concentration  of  the 
political  power  in  the  hands  of  1,000  burghers,  while  the  Uitlanders  num- 
bered 23,000.  At  that  time  it  required  a fourteen  years’  residence  for  the 
Uitlander  to  acquire  the  franchise.  Against  the  protests  of  most  of  his 
friends.  President  Kruger  proposed  to  reduce  this  term  to  five  years,  with 
the  pledge  to  make  a still  further  reduction  at  the  end  of  ten  years.  The 
conditions  on  which  this  compromise  or  concession  was  offered  were  not 
acceptable  to  the  British  authorities.  Negotiations  were  continued,  but 
agreement  could  not  be  attained  and  the  gathering  clouds  grew  darker 
every  day. 

The  sincerity  of  British  purposes  was  doubted  from  the  first,  audit  was 
this  distrust  which  greatly  hindered  negotiations  between  President  Kruger 
and  the  English  officials.  Since  war  soon  became  inevitable,  it  is  necessary, 
in  order  that  the  reader  should  have  a clear  understanding  of  the  situation 
and  the  events  that  followed,  that  we  should  recapitulate  somewhat  and  take 
a bird’s-eye  view  of  the  field,  toward  which  the  eyes  of  the  world  have  been 
so  lately  turned. 

The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  two  Boer  republics  were  arra3^ed 
against  England,  and  that  , they  lie  wholly  in  the  interior,  having  no  port  on 
the  ocean,  although  the  distance  from  their  eastern  boundary  to  the  Indian 
Ocean  is  less  than  two  hundred  miles. 

The  older  republic  is  the  Orange  Free  State,  and,  as  we  have  already 
stated,  it  was  founded  by  Boers  who  made  their  “ trek  ” from  Cape  Colony 
in  1836.  The  area  of  the  Orange  Free  State  is  about  the  same  as  that  of 
the  State  of  Penns^dvania.  In  1890  the  population  was  77,716  whites  and 
129,787  natives.  The  famous  Kimberley  gold  mines  are  located  just  out- 
side and  west  of  the  territory  of  the  Orange  Free  State,  whose  capital  is 
Bloemfontein. 

The  South  African  Republic,  or  the  Transvaal,  as  it  often  called,  lies 
directly  north  of  the  Orange  Free  State  and  has  an  area  two  and  one-half 
times  that  of  the  Orange  Free  State.  The  white  population  is  about 
350,000  and  the  native  population  more  than  double  that.  Pretoria  is  the 


378 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


capital,  with  a population  of  10,000.  The  largest  town  is  Johannesburg, 
the  mining  centre  of  the  Witwaterstraiid  gold  fields,  with  a population 
within  a radius  of  three  miles  of  a little  more  than  100,000,  half  of  whom 
are  whites. 

To  the  northeast  of  Cape  Colony  lies  the  British  colony  of  Natal,  set- 
tled by  the  Dutch,  but  Great  Britain  took  military  possession  of  it  in  1843. 
The  province  of  Znlnlaiid  is  now  a part  of  Natal  and  comprises  two-thirds 
of  the  country  formerly  held  by  the  Zulus. 

On  May  31,  1889,  a conference  between  Sir  Alfred  Milner,  Governor  of 
Cape  Colony,  and  the  Presidents  of  the  Dutch  republics  was  held  at 
Bloemfontein,  at  which  the  grievances  of  the  Uitlanders  were  discussed, 
but  although  an  agreement  seemed  near,  it  was  not  reached.  England  was 
insistent  in  her  demands,  and  the  Boer  Presidents,  still  distrustful  of  her 
motives,  were  equally  obstinate. 

From  June  i to  October  10  negotiations  continued  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  republics,  but  the  point  of  agreement  was  still  elusive,  and 
both  countries  pushed  their  preparations  for  war.  The  Orange  Free  State 
announced  its  intention  of  supporting  the  Transvaal  in  the  event  of  hostilities. 

B}^  this  time  it  was  clear  be3^ond  all  possibility  of  doubt  that  England 
meant  to  insist  upon  demands  to  which  the  Boers  could  never  agree.  Further- 
more, President  Kruger  and  his  friends  believed  that  Great  Britain  was 
delaying  the  negotiations  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  gain  time  in  which 
to  complete  her  military  preparations.  Since  the  Boers  were  already 
prepared,  it  followed  that  delay  only  strengthened  their  enemy,  who,  with 
their  overwhelming  population  and  resources,  would  secure  a fatal  disadvan- 
tage. Inasmuch  as  war  must  come,  the  sooner  it  came  the  better  would  it 
be  for  the  South  African  republics. 

Therefore,  on  October  10,  1899,  the  Transvaal  sent  an  ultimatum  to  the 
British  Government,  in  which  demands  were  made  that  fairly  took  awa}^  the 
breath  of  the  rulers  of  the  most  powerful  empire  in  the  world.  Those 
insignificant  republics  had  the  temerity  to  insist  of  Great  Britain  that  their 
differences  should  be  submitted  to  arbitration  ; that  all  British  troops  on  the 
Transvaal  border  should  be  immediately  withdrawn  ; that  reinforcements 
arriving  since  June  i should  be  recalled  ; that  the  British  troops  on  the  high 
seas  should  not  be  landed  in  any  part  of  South  Africa,  and,  finally,  that  an 
answer  to  these  demands  should  be  made  not  later  than  5 o’clock  P.  M. 
of  the  next  da}^  October  ii,  with  warning  that  if  such  answer  was  not 
made,  or  it  should  prove  unsatisfactor}^  the  Transvaal  would  accept  such 
fact  as  a declaration  of  war. 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


379 


The  British  repl}^,  of  course,  was  unsatisfactory,  and  the  Boers  proved 
their  earnestness  by  invading  Natal  on  October  12,  and  advancing  toward 
Newcastle,  where  the  British  troops,  under  Generals  White  and  S3nnons, 
were  on  the  defensive.  Finding  their  position  untenable,  the  British,  the 
next  day,  evacuated  Newcastle  to  Ladysmith,  where  a strong  force  was  sta- 
tioned. The  siege  of  Kimberley  began  on  the  20th  of  October.  On  the 
same  day  a furious  fight* took  place  at  Dundee,  in  Natal,  wliere  the  British, 
with  a loss  of  two  hundred  and  fifteen  in  killed  and  wounded,  repulsed  the 
Boers.  The  battle  of  Elandslaagte  was  fought  October  21,  and  General 
French,  after  a bard  struggle,  captured  the  Boer  position,  but  with  a loss  in 
killed  and  wounded  of  two  hundred  and  fift^^-seven. 

The  siege  of  Ladysmith  began  October  29,  and  soon  awakened  the 
gravest  anxiety  throughout  England.  There  were  frequent  reports  of  its 
relief,  but  the  weeks  and  months  passed,  and  when  the  closing  year  of  the 
century  opened  the  garrison  and  inhabitants  were  still  on  scant  rations, 
daily  growing  scantier,  but  strong,  brave,  and  hopeful,  though  there  was  no 
prospect  of  relief  in  sight.  A sortie  was  made  on  October  30,  near  Lad}- 
smith,  in  which  the  British  were  entrapped  and  defeated,  and  the  Boers  cap- 
tured eight  hundred  and  seventy  prisoners.  Three  da^^s  later  the  Boers  cut 
off  communication  with  Ladysmith.  When  news  reached  the  outside  world 
it  was  by  means  of  daring  runners  who  succeeded  in  stealing  out  of  the 
beleaguered  town  and  worming  their  way  through  the  investing  lines. 
Later,  heliograph  signals  passed  back  and  forth  between  the  British  troops, 
lying  beyond  the  Boers,  and  the  garrison  of  Ladysmith. 

For  the  first  few  months  of  the  war  the  advantage  was  clearly  with  the 
Boers.  They  were  on  their  own  ground,  they  were  well  armed,  both  with 
small  arms  and  artillery,  some  of  the  latter  of  the  heaviest  pattern,  and  their 
leaders  displayed  great  skill.  Among  them  were  a considerable  percentage 
of  foreign  educated  officers,  while  the  general  sympathy  felt  throughout  the 
world  for  the  gallant  Boers  caused  many  volunteers  to  join  them.  England 
was  distant  one-fourth  of  the  circumference  of  the  world,  and  it  took  consid- 
erable time  to  transport  troops,  supplies,  and  material  to  South  Africa.  As 
a consequence,  she  suffered  more  than  one  humiliating  defeat,  and  was 
obliged  to  order  out  four  or  five  times  the  number  of  men  at  first  believed 
to  be  amply  sufficient  to  crush  all  resistance.  AnxieW  *^vas  roused  more 
than  once  by  ominous  signs  of  foreign  intervention,  but  the  pride  of  Eng- 
land was  touched,  and  she  gave  fair  notice  to  all  other  nations  that  they 
must  keep  hands  off,  for  she  meant  to  fight  this  dispute  to  a finish,  and 
would  tolerate  no  interference  from  any  one. 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


SSO 


So  she  called  out  more  men,  expended  vast  sums  of  money  in  their 
equipment,  and  shipped  them  to  South  Africa,  where  they  found  plenty  of 
the  hottest  kind  of  work  awaiting  them.  The  Boers  made  efforts  through 
their  representatives  in  foreign  countries  to  secure  help,  but  no  nation 
showed  a disposition  to  involve  itself  in  a war  with  Great  Britain,  though 
Holland  went  to  the  verge  of  its  limitations  and  Germany  could  not  repress 
its  sympathy.  Japan  was  openly  the  friend  of  England  from  the  first,  but 
there  is  reason  for  believing  that  that  shrewd  “ Yankee  ” empire  was  not 
wholly  forgetful  of  her  own  interests.  One  of  the  certainties  of  the  not 
distant  future  is  a war  between  Russia  and  Japan,  in  which  it  is  all- 
important  for  the  latter  to  have  the  support  of  Great  Britain  against 
Russia,  who  has  been  edging  for  the  last  few  years  close  to  the  danger- 
point  in  the  Asiatic  possessions  of  Queen  Victoria’s  empire. 

The  sentiment  in  the  United  States  has  been  divided.  The  struggle 
of  the  Boers  for  independence  bears  so  close  a resemblance  in  many 
respects  to  tliat  of  our  own  in  1776  against  England  that  thousands  of 
Americans  deeply  sympathize  with  them,  and  hundreds  of  those  who  fought 
in  the  Boer  ranks  were  of  our  own  race  and  blood.  Still,  it  is  impossible  to 
forget  that  when  we  needed  a friend,  during  our  late  war  with  Spain,  we 
found  a true  one  in  England,  and  common  gratitude  forbids  our  doing  any- 
thing that  could  cripple  or  offend  her.  Our  Government  steadily  refused  to 
take  any  step  to  which  our  cousins  across  the  water  could  object,  and  as 
England  took  charge  of  our  interests  in  1898,  so  our  Consuls  have  looked 
after  those  of  Great  Britain  in  the  Transvaal  during  the  pendency  of  the 
war  in  South  Africa. 

On  November  2 the  British  evacuated  Colenso  in  Natal,  and  three  days 
later  the  Boers  shelled  Mafeking,  but  were  repulsed  in  an  attack  on  the 
British  posse  position.  On  the  9th  of  the  same  month  the  first  British 
transport  carrying  reinforcements  reached  Cape  Town  and  proceeded  to 
Durban.  The  alert  and  active  Boers  a few  days  later  wrecked  an  armored 
train  near  Eastcourt,  Natal,  and  captured  fifty-six  prisoners.  At  Gras  Pan, 
Lord  Methuen  attacked  the  Boers  and  drove  them  from  their  position,  and 
shortly  after  gained  a sanguinaiy  and  dearly  bought  victory  at  Modder 
River.  An  exasperating  disaster  befell  British  arms  on  December  10,  when 
General  Gatacre  was  led  into  a Boer  ambuscade,  near  Stormberg  Junction, 
and  lost  a thousand  men,  including  six  hundred  and  seventy-two  prisoners. 
On  the  same  and  following  day.  Lord  Methuen  made  a desperate  attempt  to 
carry  the  Boer  position  at  Sp3Tontein,  but  was  repulsed  with  heavy  loss, 
General  Wauchope  being  among  those  who  were  killed. 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


381 


While  England  was  cast  into  gloom  by  news  of  this  disaster,  tidings 
arrived  of  a still  greater  one.  On  December  15,  General  Biiller  attempted 
to  force  the  Tugela  River  near  Colenso,  but  was  defeated,  with  a loss  of  a 
thousand  men  and  eleven  of  his  heavy  guns.  Down  to  that  date  the  British 
losses  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing  amounted  to  nearly  eight  thousand 
men. 

These  repeated  disasters  caused  a profound  depression  throughout  the 
British  kingdom.  There  were  loud  complaints  of  the  inefiicienc}^  of  the 
officers,  and  a demand  that  the}^  should  be  replaced  by  others.  Great,  there- 
fore, was  the  relief  when,  011  the  i8th  of  December,  the  War  Office 
announced  that  Lord  Roberts,  “ Bobs,”  as  he  was  affectionatel}"  called,  who 
had  proven  himself  one  of  the  best  officers  in  the  service  of  England,  was 
to  go  to  South  Africa  as  commander-in-cliief,  with  Lord  Kitchener,  the 
hero  of  Khartoum,  second  in  command,  and  that  one  hundred  thousand 
additional  men  would  be  sent  to  the  seat  of  war.  The  officers  named  sailed 
on  the  27th  in  the  “ Dunnottar  Castle.” 

Meanwhile,  the  Boers  maintained  their  siege  of  Ladysmith  and  Mafe- 
king. ' At  the  latter  place.  Colonel  Baden-Powell  made  a desperate  sortie  the 
day  after  Christmas,  the  result  of  which  was  that  he  had  twenty-one  officers 
and  men  killed,  twenty-four  wounded,  and  three  taken  prisoners.  The 
Boers  assumed  the  offensive  at  Modder  River  and  shelled  the  British  camp, 
and  continued  it  at  intervals,  while  another  shelling  at  Ladysmith  caused 
the  death  of  Lieutenant  Dalziel  and  the  wounding  of  seven  other  officers. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  new  year.  General  French  captured  the  town  of 
Colesburg,  with  wagons  and  stores,  and  Colonel  Pilcher  defeated  a Boer 
force  at  Sunnyside  Laager,  near  Belmont,  taking  forty  prisoners.  Well  aware 
of  the  preparations  for  the  relief  of  Lad^^smith,  the  Boers  attacked  it  in 
force  on  the  6th  of  January  and  were  repulsed  with  heavy  losses  on  both 
sides.  The  list  on  the  British  side  included  fifteen  officers  and  one  hundred 
and  thirty-five  men  killed,  and  twenty-six  officers  and  two  hundred  and 
forty-four  men  wounded.  Other  attacks  on  Ladysmith  followed,  but  none 
was  successful. 

Oil  the  iith  of  January,  Lord  Dundonald,  with  the  mountain  brigade 
of  General  Buller’s  troops,  pushed  westward  and  seized  Springfield  Bridge 
and  Swartz  Kop,  which  commanded  Potgieter’s  Drift.  The}^  were  attacked 
by  the  Boers  near  Acton  Holmes,  but  successfully  defended  themselves.  Sir 
Charles  Warren  moved  to  the  attack  of  Spion  Kop,  and  the  severe  fighting 
continued,  all  of  General  Warren’s  forces  being  brought  into  action. 
Finally  the  position  was  stormed  and  captured,  but  the  Boers  converged 


382 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


sucli  a terrific  fire  upon  the  place  that  the  captors  found  it  impossible 
to  remain,  and  were  driven  out  with  a loss  of  two  hundred  and  nine 
killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  that  of  the  Boers  being  about  half  as  many. 
Two  da^^s  afterward  all  of  General  Buller’s  forces  were  withdrawn  to  the 
south  side  of  the  Tugela  River.  About  a week  later  the  stream  was 
recrossed  at  two  points,  but  the  Boer  position  at  Vaalkrantz  w’as  too 
powerful  to  be  carried,  and  once  more  General  Buller  had  to  pass  the  stream, 
and  the  third  attempt  to  relieve  Lad37'smith  ended  in  a blood}"  failure. 

By  this  time  Lord  Roberts  was  moving,  and  his  invasion  of  the  Orange 
Free  State  began  at  a drift  on  the  Riet  River.  General  French  with  a 
cavalry  brigade  advanced  to  Modder  River  and  captured  five  laagers,  and 
the  next  day,  February  14,  General  Buller  began  his  fourth  attempt  to  re- 
lieve Ladysmith.  General  French  with  his  cavalry  reached  Kimberley,  and 
the  Boer  troops  under  Cronje  abandoned  the  trenches  at  Magersfontein  and 
retreated  eastward  toward  Bloemfontein,  the  British  falling  back  from  Rens- 
berg  to  Arundel,  while  Lord  Roberts  occupied  Jacobsdal.  Unimportant  skir- 
mishing and  fighting  followed,  but  the  relief  of  Kimberley  having  been 
effected,  the  Boer  retreating  army,  through  the  fine  maneuvering  of  General 
IMacdonald  of  the  Highland  Brigade  and  General  French  commanding  the 
cavalry  division,  w"as  surrounded.  This  occurred  on  the  19th  of  February, 
four  days  after  the  relief  of  Kimberley,  and  the  unconditional  surrender  of 
General  Cronje  took  place  on  the  27th.  Lord  Roberts’  dispatch  announced 
the  number  of  prisoners  at  eight  thousand,  but  it  was  afterward  ascertained 
that  the  number  was  about  half  that.  Cronje’s  troops  had  intrenched  them- 
selves in  the  bed  of  the  Modder  River  at  Koodoos  Rand  Drift.  Their  losses 
of  men  w"ere  not  great,  but  most  of  their  horses  were  killed  by  the  heavy 
artillery  fire,  and  further  resistance  was  hopeless.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the 
surrender  of  Cronje  took  place  on  the  anniversary  of  the  British  disaster 
of  Majuba  Hill.  But  England  was  not  justified  in  exulting  over  the  capture 
of  four  thousand  Boer  farmers  by  a force  of  troops  which  numbered  at  least 
forty  thousand. 

Wisdom  now  demanded  that  the  Boers  should  withdraw  from  the  front' 
of  Ladysmith.  They  did  this  with  admirable  skill,  taking  their  guns  with 
them  and  keeping  up  a show  of  resistance  against  Buller’s  last  attempt  to 
relieve  the  place.  The  siege  had  lasted  for  one  hundred  and  eighteen  days, 
during  which  there  was  much  suffering  from  disease  and  the  lack  of  food. 
Ladysmith  was  entered  March  i,  where,  as  may  be  supposed,  the  friends 
were  received  with  great  rejoicing  and  the  news  was  hailed  with  delight 
throughout  England. 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


383 


Particulars  of  the  entry  of  General  Buller  and  his  troops  into  Lad}^- 
siiiith  stated  that  the  streets  were  lined  with  the  garrison,  and  all  the  civil- 
ians who  had  strength  enough  to  keep  their  feet  gathered  to  cheer  their  de- 
liverers. General  White  and  his  staff  were  waiting  on  horseback  in  front 
of  the  Town  Hall,  and  the  mangled  walls  and  shattered  tower  formed  an 
appropriate  background  to  the  striking  picture.  The  troops  were  headed 
b}^  General  Buller  and  his  staff,  escorted  b}"  the  Irregular  Horse  and  the 
Dublin  Fnsileers,  who,  because  of  their  gallantr}^  and  severe  losses,  led  the 
van.  General  Warren  followed  at  the  head  of  the  fiftli  division. 

Every  branch  of  the  service  was  enthusiastically  cheered.  The  scene 
was  stirring  and  thrilling.  The  twent^^-two  thousand  troops  of  all  arms, 
grimy,  dust-stained,  ragged,  tanned,  but  in  rollicking  spirits,  as  shown  by 
their  laughter,  shouts,  and  flinging  their  helmets  in  air,  occupied  three  hours 
in  passing  by  General  White,  and  were  in  impressive  contrast  to  the  gaunt, 
yellow-faced  garrison,  who,  for  so  long  a time,  had  been  close  upon  the 
pangs  of  starvation.  Every  one  felt  like  dancing  to  the  lively  tunes  of  the 
pipers  of  the  Gordon  Highlanders,  and  the  women  and  children  waved  their 
handkerchiefs  and  joined  in  the  glad  acclaim.  General  Buller  was  cheered 
to  the  echo,  and  two  battalions  of  the  Devonshire  Regiment,  who  had  parted 
five  years  before  in  India,  broke  ranks  and  rushed  like  long-lost  brothers 
into  one  another’s  arms. 

The  losses  among  General  Buller’s  non-commissioned  officers  were  one 
hundred  and  twenty-three  killed,  five  hundred  and  sevent3^-five  wounded, 
and  fifty-four  missing.  The  Inniskilling  Fnsileers  had  fift3^-four  killed  in 
their  famous  charge  at  Pieter’s  Hill. 

The  considerable  force  near  Bloemfontein  withdrew  upon  the  approach 
of  the  superior  British  army,  and  the  peace  part3^  came  out  for  two  miles 
with  the  official  ke3^s  and  words  of  welcome  for  Lord  Roberts,  who  quietE^ 
took  possession  and  made  his  headquarters  in  the  residence  of  the  fugitive 
President  Ste3m.  Cronje  and  a large  number  of  prisoners  were  conve3^ed  to 
St.  Helena,  the  island  home  of  the  once  mighty  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  where 
they  arrived  on  the  14th  of  April. 

President  Ste3ai  had  removed  the  seat  of  government  to  Kroonstadt,  a 
hundred  and  sixt3^  miles  northeast  of  Kimberley,  which  was  made  a rallying 
point  of  the  Boers  from  the  surrounding  country,  and  where  several  weeks 
were  spent  in  recovering  from  the  demoralization  caused  b3^  the  surrender 
of  Cronje  and  his  arm3^  General  Roberts  had  found  the  wear  and  tear 
upon  his  horses  so  severe  that  he,  too,  was  obliged  to  rest  his  cavaliy  until 
• new  horses  could  be  sent  from  England.  On  the  9th  of  April  the  British 


384 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


garrison  at  Wepener  was  isolated  and  their  siege  began.  It  was  subjected 
to  a heavy  bombardment,  but  the  defenders  plnckil}^  held  out.  General 
Roberts  made  a determined  attempt  to  throw  a cordon  to  the  east  around 
the  Boers  during  the  brave  defense  of  Wepener,  and  it  looked  as  if  he  would 
succeed,  but  the  Boers,  almost  at  the  last  moment,  succeeded  in  extricating 
themselves  from  the  British  forces,  which  w^ere  fully  five  times  as  numerous 
as  theirs.  Roberts,  having  equipped  and  rested  his  men,  began  his  move- 
ment against  Pretoria.  His  army  was  deployed  along  a front  forty  miles  in 
length,  and  sweeping  northward  past  Brantford  and  Winbnrg,  he  crossed 
the  Vet  and  Zand  Rivers  and  pressed  toward  Kroonstadt,  from  which  the 
Boers  fled  on  his  approach.  President  Steyn  announcing  the  removal  of  the 
capital  to  Lindley,  fifty  miles  to  the  east. 

The  British  army  advanced  with  astonishing  swiftness,  their  numbers 
so  much  superior  to  the  Boers  that  they  could  no  more  than  harass  the  in- 
vaders. General  Planter  had  begun  at  the  same  time  a movement  with  his 
forces  north  of  Kimberley,  in  keeping  with  the  advance  of  his  chief.  He 
had  some  brisk  fighting,  but  he  occupied  Christina,  when,  for  the  first  time 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  the  British  flag  was  hoisted  in  the  Trans- 
vaal. General  Buller  also  began  a march  into  Natal,  meeting  with  no 
serious  opposition  to  his  occupanc}^  of  Glencoe,  Dundee,  and  the  Biggars- 
burg  passes. 

All  London  was  thrown  into  a delirium  of  joy  on  the  receipt  of  news 
that,  on  May  i6,  Mafeking  had  been  relieved  by  Lord  Roberts.  This  place, 
it  will  be  remembered,  was  besieged  on  October  14,  1899,  when  the  town 
was  invested  by  General  Cronje  with  about  three  thousand  Boers  and  three 
guns.  It  contained  several  hundred  English  soldiers  and  twelve  hundred 
irregular  troops.  It  was  not  very  long  before  the  garrison  was  reduced  to 
living  on  horse  meat.  As  the  weeks  passed,  the  friends  of  the  besieged 
began  to  abandon  hope,  but  though  they  underwent  many  privations,  doubt- 
less they  could  have  held  out  several  weeks  longer  had  not  help  reached 
them. 

We  must  not  forget  to  state  that  the  severest  blov/  received  by  the 
Boers  during  the  spring  months  of  1900  fell  on  the  night  of  March  27, 
when  Piet  Joubert,  Slim  Piet,”  Vice-President  of  the  Transvaal,  and  com- 
mandant-general of  the  republic’s  military  forces,  died  at  Pretoria,  in  his 
sixty-ninth  year,  after  a brief  illness.  The  whole  country  was  thrown  into 
the  deepest  gloom,  and  his  loss  was  looked  upon  as  irreparable. 

General  Joubert  was  a remarkable  man,  and  it  was  of  him  that  General 
White  said : ‘‘  He  is  a soldier  and  a gentleman,  a brave  and  honorable  op- 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


385 


ponent.”  The  greatest  tribute  that  can  be  paid  to  his  bravery  and  skill  is 
ill  the  statement  that  he  was  the  hero  of  Majuba  Hill,  where,  in  i88i,  two 
hundred  and  eighty  British  were  killed  and  Joubert  lost  but  five  men.  When 
questioned  about  that  remarkable  victory,  he  always  replied  that  neither  he 
nor  his  men  deserved  any  credit  therefor,  but  that  it  belonged  wholly  to  God. 
The  subject  was  strangely  distasteful  to  him  and  he  rarely  consented  to 
speak  about  it.  He  was  a deeply  religious  man,  like  almost  all  the  Boers. 
As  evidence  of  his  stern,  puritanical  principles,  it  is  stated  that  in  1884  he 
refused  to  join  the  Boer  raid  in  British  Bechuanaland,  and  declared  further 
that  he  would  hold  no  office  under  a Government  which  broke  its  promises, 
even  when  those  promises  were  made  to  their  greatest  enemy — Great  Britain. 

Lord  Roberts,  thorough  soldier  that  he  is,  continued  pushing  his 
advance  with  vigor  and  yet  with  proper  caution.  In  a dispatch,  dated  May 
23,  he  reported  his  arrival  at  the  south  bank  of  the  Rhenoster  River,  whence 
the  enemy  fled  during  the  night  from  their  strong  position  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  stream.  This  retreat,  with  other  numerous  rumors,  pointed  to 
a demoralization  among  the  Boers,  and  the  willingness  of  many  of  the 
leaders  to  discuss  the  question  of  peace.  Indeed,  a short  time  before,  they 
had  felt  the  ground  between  them  and  the  British  authorities,  who  distinctly 
notified  them  that  no  terms  would  be  considered  except  unconditional  sur- 
render, whereupon  the  sturdy  Boers  “ buckled  on  their  armor  ” and  resolved 
to  fight  it  out  to  the  end. 

Having  evacuated  their  position  north  of  the  Rhenoster  River,  the 
Boers  followed  the  only  course  left  to  them,  while  General  Roberts  pursued, 
always  carefully  and  cautiously,  with  his  cavalry  and  mounted  infantry. 
He  crossed  the  Vaal  on  the  27th  and  established  his  headquarters  at 
Vereeniging,  the  opposition  of  the  Boers  being  insignificant.  The  advance 
guard,  which  crossed  the  day  before,  found  the  coal  mines  intact,  but  the 
railway  bridge  had  been  destroyed. 

Great  Britain  had  poured  her  overwhelming  forces  into  South  Africa, 
and  being  commanded  by  her  ablest  leader,  the  final  conclusion  of  the  whole 
matter  was  as  certain  as  the  following  of  day  by  night.  The  earlier  defeats 
of  the  invaders,  costly  as  they  were,  taught  them  more  than  one  needed 
lesson.  Throughout  the  preceding  forty  years  England  had  fought  only 
black,  brown,  and  yellow  men.  Her  soldiers  had  displayed  unsurpassable 
heroism,  but,  all  the  same,  the  task  of  meeting  civilized  men  in  battle  is 
tenfold  more  difficult  than  that  of  fighting  fierce,  untamable  savages.  In 
the  Boers  she  found  foemen  worthy  of  her  steel,  and  because  she  underes- 
timated them  at  first  she  paid  the  penalty  in  defeat  and  disaster. 


386 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


But  the  lesson  was  learned,  and  nothing  is  truer  than  the  remark  of 
the  great  Napoleon  that  Providence  generally  fights  on  the  side  of  the 
heaviest  battalions.  Henceforward  the  crushing  of  the  gallant  republic,  sad 
as  it  is,  was  one  of  the  absolute  certainties  of  the  near  future. 

On  the  last  day  of  May  Johannesburg  was  occupied,  with  virtually  no 
opposition.  The  commandant  met  General  Roberts  at  the  entrance  to  the 
city  and  rode  by  his  side  to  the  Government  offices,  where  he  introduced  him 
to  the  heads  of  the  several  departments,  who  were  asked  to  continue  their 
duties  until  relieved.  Many  of  the  citizens  had  fled  upon  the  approach  of 
the  invaders,  but  a large  crowd  assembled  in  the  main  square  and  cheered 
the  flag  when  it  was  hoisted  and  added  cheers  for  the  Queen. 

But  Pretoria,  the  capital,  was  the  objective  point  of  the  campaign. 
Something  like  a panic  seized  the  city.  Guards  were  placed  in  front  of  the 
banks,  members  of  the  fighting  commandos  and  foreign  residents  fled  from 
the  city,  while  chaos  and  confusion  reigned  everywhere.  It  was  said  that 
ten  thousand  burghers  were  in  position  to  defend  the  approaches  to  the  city, 
but  cooler-headed  men  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  when  Roberts’  army 
appeared  surrender  would  speedily  follow,  since  there  could  be  but  one  end 
to  the  most  desperate  defense. 

And  so  news  of  repeated  and  decisive  British  victories  was  continually 
flashed  to  the  outside  world.  President  Kruger  himself  caught  the  general 
fever  of  panic,  and  in  his  flight  from  Lydenburg  took  with  him  the  gold 
bullion  intended  for  coinage,  thereby  leaving  a majority  of  the  officials 
unpaid  and  engendering  a deep  feeling  of  anger  among  the  burghers. 
Because  of  this  indignation,  the  President  at  midnight  on  the  ist  of  June 
sent  word  to  have  the  new  treasury  notes  redeemed  in  gold.  These  were 
the  notes  that  had  been  issued  for  the  payment  of  salaries. 

On  the  afternoon  of  June  5,  the  London  War  Office  received  and 
posted  the  news  which  everybody  was  expecting,  in  the  following  dispatch 
from  General  Lord  Roberts:  ‘‘Pretoria,  June  5,  1900.— We  are  now  in  pos- 
session of  Pretoria.  The  official  entry  will  be  made  at  two  o’clock  this 
afternoon.” 

Later  General  Roberts  sent  the  following  details  : “ Pretoria,  June  5, 
11:55  T-  — ^Just  before  dark  ^^esterday  evening  the  enemy  w^ere  beaten 
back  from  nearly  all  the  positions  they  had  been  holding,  and  Hamilton’s 
mounted  infantry  followed  them  up  to  within  two  thousand  37ards  of 
Pretoria,  through  which  they  retreated  hastily.  Delisle  then  sent  an 
officer  with  a flag  of  truce  into  the  town,  demanding  its  surrender.  Shortly 
before  midnight  I was  awakened  by  two  officials  of  the  South  African 


AFRICA— AND  THE  BOER  WAR 


387 


Republic,  Sandburg,  military  secretary  to  Commandant  General  Botlia, 
and  a general  officer  of  the  Boer  army,  who  brought  me  a letter  from 
Botha  proposing  an  armistice  for  the  purpose  of  settling  the  terms  of  sur- 
render. I replied  that  I would  gladly  meet  the  commandant  general  the 
next  morning,  but  that  I was  not  prepared  to  discuss  any  terms,  as  the  sur- 
render of  the  town  must  be  unconditional.  In  reply  Botha  told  me  he  had 
decided  to  defend  Pretoria.  At  i A.  M.  to-day,  while  on  the  line  of  march, 
I was  met  by  three  of  the  principal  civil  officials  with  a flag  of  truce,  who 
stated  their  wash  to  surrender  the  town.  It  was  arranged  that  Pretoria 
should  be  taken  possession  of  by  her  majesty’s  troops  at  two  o’clock  this 
afternoon.”  At  the  hour  appointed  the  occupation  of  the  capital  was  com- 
pleted by  the  trained  forces  of  the  Queen  of  England,  and  the  British  flag 
was  hoisted  to  the  top  of  the  Government  buildings  with  impressive  cere- 
monies. 

With  the  fall  of  Pretoria,  and  the  continued  apathy  of  the  influential 
burghers  of  that  city,  the  Boer  army  seemed  to  take  on  new  activity.  On 
July  II  they  surprised  the  British  garrison  at  Netral  Nek  and  captured  two 
guns  and  300  men.  The  success  of  this  enterprise  aroused  the  Britons  to 
greater  care,  and  from  this  time  they  pursued  the  Boers  rapidly  and  relent- 
lessly. The  capture  of  Barberton  and.  Nelspruit  quickly  followed,  and  the 
advantages  so  gained  were  vigorously  pursued,  so  that  the  Boer  forces  were 
being  rapidly  depleted  by  such  determined  activity.  Notwithstanding  the 
overwhelming  strength  of  the  British,  estimated  at  two  hundred  thousand 
men,  the  Boers,  particularly  those  under  General  De  Wet,  succeeded  in 
inflicting  many  serious  losses  upon  the  invaders.  The  most  recent  estimate 
of  the  fatal  casualties  to  the  British  show  that  they  sustained  a loss  of  72.1 
per  cent,  per  thousand  of  the  officers,  and  50.8  per  cent,  per  thousand  of  the 
enlisted  men.  Notwithstanding  this  deplorable  loss  of  life.  Great  Britain 
pursued  the  war  with  unrelenting  vigor  until  the  Boers  were  scattered  far 
to  the  north  and  east  in  small  roving  bands,  unable  to  concentrate  their 
little  remaining  strength.  Early  in  September  President  Kruger  effected 
his  escape  to  Lorenzo  Marquez,  where  he  was  closely  watched  b}^  the  Por- 
tuguese officials,  with  whom  Great  Britain  had  lodged  a protest  against  his 
using  their  territory  as  a base  for  conducting  the  war.  With  the  flight  of 
ex-President  Kruger,  the  capture  of  Pretoria  and  the  principal  cities  of  the 
Orange  Free  State,  came  the  virtual  fall  of  the  thriving  Dutch  republics, 
and  the  Union  Jack  of  Great  Britain  waved  over  another  immense  area  of 
the  earth’s  surface. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LITERATURE 
[With  Introduction  by  Jueian  Hawthorne.] 

The  literature  (properly  so  called)  of  the  passing  century  has  found 
many  new  ways  of  saying  things  ; but  the  number  of  new  things  said 
is  not  remarkable.  The  more  we  study  the  books  of  the  past,  the  less 
we  find  in  the  books  of  to-day  that  is  really  original.  This  does  not,  of  course, 
apply  to  scientific  works ; but  it  is,  on  the  other  hand,  only  by  accident  that 
any  of  these  can  be  included  in  the  definition  of  literature.  Much  of  the 
historical  writing  of  the  century  is  excellent  from  the  literary  point  of  view ; 
but  here  the  personal  equation  enters  in  far  more  than  in  any  other  species 
of  scientific  work ; deduct  the  apostrophes,  the  comment,  the  moralizing, 
and  the  warnings,  and  you  deduct,  as  a rule,  the  literature  of  the  thing 
along  with  them.  The  bare  record  of  events  may  be  useful,  but  has  no  charm. 

There  remain  essays  on  social,  moral  and  religious,  philosophical,  and  a 
few  other  topics  ; and  works  of  the  imagination — poetry,  romance,  and 
novels.  These  are  the  books  that  last,  because  they  appeal  to  that  in  the 
human  mind  which  has  little  or  no  relation  to  time.  And  it  is  such  books 
of  these  kinds  as  have  been  written  during  the  last  hundred  years  that  are 
here  especially  to  be  considered.  When  we  say  that  they  last,  we  mean 
that  the  worthiest  among  them  may  do  so  ; but  how  many  out  of  the 
innumerable  aggregation  can  be  qualified  as  worthy  ? 

During  the  forepart  of  the  century,  it  was  from  England  and  France 
that  the  largest  number  of  readable  books  were  put  forth.  Later,  Germany 
began  to  loom  larger  upon  the  horizon  ; and  what  Goethe,  Schiller,  Heine, 
and  a few  others  wrote  bids  fair  to  be  read  long  after  this  generation  shall 
have  passed  awa}^  They  bear  comparison  easily  with  anything  produced 
by  the  French  Hugo,  Dumas,  Sand,  Gautier,  De  Tocqueville,  and  Flaubert ; 
or  by  the  English  Tenn3^son,  Thackeray,  Carlyle,  Dickens,  and  Browning. 
388 


JULIAN  HAWTHORNE, 

Author — Journalist, 

Contributes  the  chapter  iu  this  volume  on  “Nineteenth  Century  Literature.” 


(niorP  OF  GRFAT 

John  <i.  Whittier,  jioet,  t)orii  in  1807  ; dieil  in  1892. 
.lohn  Lothrop  .Motley,  historian,  horn  in  1814;  died 
in  1877. 

Henry  W.  Loiif'fellow,  poet,  born  in  1807;  die<l  in  1882. 


AMERK  AN  AUTJK  )RS. 

llret  II arte,  jwet  and  novelist,  born  in  18^9. 

.lames  Itussell  Lowell,  poet  and  scholar,  born  in  1819; 
died  in  1891. 

James  Whitcomb  Riley,  poet,  born  in  18.52. 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LITERATURE 


389 


In  the  latter  half  of  the  century  there  began  to  be  heard  voices  from  Russia 
and  Scandinavia,  which  were  often  more  nearly  original  than  most  of  those 
above  mentioned  ; partl}^,  no  doubt,  because  the  writers  were  denizens  of  what 
was,  for  literaiy  purposes,  a field  comparatively  fresh.  Hans  Christian  Ander- 
sen the  Swede,  Bjornsen  the  Norwegian,  Tolstoy,  Dostoievsky,  and  Turgenief 
the  Russians  have  done  work  which  has  moved  and  influenced  contemporary 
writers  of  all  nations.  Even  in  Spain  several  novelists  of  refinement  and 
power  have  appeared ; Holland  has  given  some  distinctive  utterances  ; and 
Italy  is  to  be  credited  not  only  with  such  early  masters  as  Manzoni,  author 
of  “ I Promessi  Sposi,”  but  also  with  one  or  two  later  geniuses  who  have  at 
least  attracted  attention,  if  they  deserve  no  better  praise. 

This  list,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  is  the  very  opposite  of  exhaustive  ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  its  enlargement  would  not  be  apt  to  add  more  than 
one  name  deserving  of  permanent  renown.  That  name  is  the  French  De 
Balzac,  doubtless  the  greatest  novelist  of  the  century,  and  probably  the 
greatest  of  all  centuries.  He  reall}^  created  something  in  literature ; he 
devised  and  carried  out  a new  conception,  in  a method  which  was  his  own. 
Less  than  almost  any  other  writer  of  fiction  did  he  depend  on  the  w^rk  of 
former  writers,  or  derived  color  or  suggestions  from  contemporaries.  He 
went  direct  to  the  life  around  him,  and  solved  its  problems  by  his  own 
thinking.  Next  to  him  as  a novelist  comes  the  English  Thackeray,  who, 
however,  applied  to  nineteenth  century  life  the  methods  already  used 
by  eighteenth  century  writers.  Then  follow  Tolstoy  and  Turgenief, 
who  saw  life  with  a severe  and  unrelenting  accuracy  which  wins  our  ad- 
miration while  it  depresses  us.  They  put  out  of  date  writers  like 
Walter  Scott,  who  charmed  an  earlier  generation  and  are  still  read.  The 
French  Zola  imitated  the  methods  of  De  Balzac,  but  debased  his  model ; 
Du  Maupassant,  a pupil  of  Flaubert,  devoted  his  great  talents  to  even  lower 
uses  than  Zola.  Recent  French  literature  is  miasmatic  and  decadent. 
German  writers  of  the  day  are  laborious  and  conscientious,  but  incline  to  be 
dull.  Perhaps  the  most  sensational  literary  phenomenon  of  late  3^ears  has 
been  a countryman  of  Bjornson,  Ibsen,  a writer  of  realistic  plays;  he  has 
power,  and  veracity  of  detail  ; but  his  conceptions  are  morbid  and  pessi- 
mistic, and  have  no  root  in  large  truths.  The  American  writers  whose  work 
is  of  real  importance  are  so  few  that  it  would  perhaps  be  best  to  name  none  of 
them.  But  Emerson,  Hawthorne,  and  the  humorist,  Mark  Twain,  are  all  dis- 
tinctive ; and  they  show  different  aspects  of  what  must  be  termed  our  national 
spirit  (undeveloped  though  that  still  is).  Our  poets,  Bryant  and  Longfellow, 
have  obtained  wide  vogue,  perhaps  chiefly  because  we  had  no  better  ones. 


390 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LITERATURE 


Upon  the  whole,  then,  the  creative  literary  work  done  in  this  century 
has  been  comparatively  insignificant.  The  best  human  energy  has  been 
directed  in  other  channels — scientific  investigation  and  generalization,  dis^ 
covery,  exploration,  commerce,  and  industry.  But  the  century  has  developed, 
and  might  almost  be  said  to  have  invented,  one  form  of  literature  which 
takes  a place  of  first  importance  in  our  daily  lives,  and  acts  as  a mirror  and 
in  a degree  as  a stimulus  to  all  other  human  work.  This  is  the  newspaper, 
or  journalism  ; and  in  no  other  country  so  much  as  in  America  has  journalism 
been  cultivated  and  its  sphere  enlarged.  It  is  the  most  characteristic  literary 
product  of  our  age.  It  is  allied  with  every  other  advance  in  civilization  ; 
it  wields  an  enormous  and  unprecedented  power  ; it  aims  at  nothing  less 
than  to  record  all  events,  and  to  give  form  to  public  opinion  on  all  subjects. 
It  is  often  open  to  abuses,  and  guilty  of  them  ; but  upon  the  whole  its 
influence  is  good.  It  brings  evil  into  daylight,  and  compels  us  to  know  our 
own  worst ; if  it  also  makes  us  seem  worse  than  we  are — because  sinister 
shadow  is  more  “ interesting  ” than  placid  sunshine — the  fault  is  on  the 
right  side;  human  nature  is  too  prone  to  self-flattery.  Journalism  is  the 
friend  of  democracy ; it  tends  to  level  all  classes ; if  it  be  also  the  foe  of 
personal  dignity,  of  reserve,  and  even  of  self-respect,  we  must  remember 
how  readily  these  good  qualities  degenerate  into  their  corresponding  evils. 
It  rescues  us  from  a fools’  paradise,  and  it  makes  the  most  remote  provincial 
a citizen  of  the  world.  More  and  more  does  it  take  all  knowledge  to  be  its 
province  ; it  begins  to  fill  the  place  of  the  magazine,  and  even  of  the  book  ; 
and  along  with  this  broadening  of  scope,  the  literary  quality  of  its  contents 
improves  ; so  that  many  writers  on  the  press,  whose  names  may  never  be 
known  outside  the  newspaper  office,  to-day  produce  as  good  writing  as  is  to 
be  found  anywhere  ; and  not  a few  writers  who  have  become  famous — such 
as  Bret  Harte  and  Rudyard  Kipling — learned  all  they  knew  at  the  office 
desk. 

Posterity  will  have  the  advantage  of  that  historical  perspective  which 
is  needed  in  order  to  see  the  newspaper  in  its  true  light  and  place.  It  will 
then  be  recognized  as  the  most  important  and  extraordinary  literary 
phenomenon  of  the  age.  It  is  a wholly  spontaneous  product,  and  therefore 
a characteristic  and  sincere  one.  It  accomplishes  what  it  'vas  never  possible 
to  accomplish  before.  It  is  life’s  second  thought — its  self-realization. 
To-day,  nothing  seems  less  valuable  than  yesterday’s  newspaper;  but  in  a 
hundred  years,  it  will  be  studied  with  avidity.  Students  will  turn  from  the 
novels,  the  poetry,  the  histories,  the  essays,  and  fasten  upon  the  newspaper 
of  former  periods  in  order  to  catch  the  true  form  and  spirit  of  them.  The 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LITERATURE 


391 


nineteenth  century  has  in  some  respects  been  the  most  noteworthy  in  history  ; 
it  is  a centniy  of  transition  from  old  to  new  things.  If  it  had  been  recorded 
only  in  formal  books,  it  could  not  have  been  rightly  or  adequately  recorded ; 
but  the  newspaper  has  done  without  effort  what  the  greatest  of  geniuses 
would  have  been  impotent  to  do ; and  its  humble  columns  contain  mines  of 
truth  about  nature  and  human  nature  which  make  Shakespeare  seem 
shallow.  It  is  the  book  of  the  human  race  ; the  most  fugitive  and  frail  of 
documents,  but  likely  to  outlast  almost  all  others  in  the  end. 

THE  GREAT  FIGURES  IN  LETTERS. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  dwell  here  upon  how  our  marvelous  age  has 
been  characterized  by  the  progress  of  invention  and  general  education. 
Mental,  political,  and  physical  science  have  received  great  impetus  from  the 
invaluable  writings  of  men  like  Hamilton,  Mill,  and  Spencer ; Miller, 
Darwin,  and  Tyndall.  Historical,  religious,  and  critical  productions  of 
remarkable  power  appeared  from  the  pens  of  Macaulay,  Hallam,  Carlyle, 
Whately,  Chalmers,  Lamb,  Emerson,  De  Quincey,  and  other  scarcely  less 
illustrious  colleagues.  Ruskin  dominated  the  field  of  art  criticism  and 
ethics.  But  the  most  prominent  literary  characteristic  of  the  century  has 
been  the  development  of  fiction  under  such  masters  as  Dickens,  Thackeray, 
Balzac,  George  Eliot,  Hawthorne  (whose  brilliant  son,  able  alike  as  essayist, 
novelist,,  and  journalist,  contributes  the  introduction  to  this  chapter), 
Bulwer,  Victor  Hugo — a whole  regiment  of  masterly  story-tellers,  eminent 
in  each  decade,  with  Rudyard  Kipling  commander-in-chief  of  the  surviving 
forces  at  the  end  of  the  century.  As  for  the  poets  and  dramatists — from 
Wordsworth  on  to  our  own  Longfellow,  from  Browning  to  Rostand — their 
name  is  legion. 

It  would  be  utterly  impossible  to  comprise  within  the  full  limits  of  this 
volume  the  barest  mention  of  all  the  master  minds  in  the  realms  of  liter- 
ature and  art.  We  append,  however,  selected  sketches  of  a few  of  the 
acknowledged  chiefs  in  the  great  republic  of  letters. 

Sir  Walter  Scott. — Sir  Walter  Scott,  poet  and  novelist,  was  born  in 
Edinburgh  in  1771.  He  was  educated  at  the  university  of  that  city,  but 
gained  no  distinction  as  a student  while  at  college.  He  was,  however,  an 
indefatigable  reader  of  romances,  old  plays,  poetr}^  travels,  and  whatever 
miscellaneous  literature  came  within  his  reach.  After  leaving  college  he 
studied  law  and  entered  the  Scottish  bar.  He  had  long  entertained  a desire 
to  be  a poet  and  a writer  of  romances,  and  he  now  found  opportunity  for  his 


392 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LITERATURE 


favorite  literary  recreations.  In  1805  he  published  “ The  Lay  of  the  Last 
Minstrel,”  a romantic  poem  of  border  chivalry,  which  was  received  with 
enthusiasm,  and  Scott  was  enrolled  among  the  foremost  poets  of  the  day. 
He  now  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  literature,  writing  a number  of 
poems,  among  which  “ Marmion  ” and  “ The  Lady  of  the  Lake  ” are  the 
most  popular. 

About  this  time  B^mon’s  great  fame  as  a poet  warned  Scott  to  seek 
literary  success  in  other  paths.  He  resolved  b}^  way  of  experiment  to  com- 
plete a novel  he  had  begun  some  years  before,  but  had  put  aside  in  conse- 
quence of  the  unfavorable  criticism  of  a literary  friend.  In  three  weeks 
the  book  was  finished,  and  in  July,  1814,  it  appeared  anonymously  under 
the  title  of  “ Waverley.”  The  experiment  succeeded  be3'oiid  the  author’s 
expectations,  and,  encouraged  by  the  success  of  this  novel,  Scott  wrote  in  a 
similar  st^de  ‘‘Guy  Mannering,”  “The  Antiquary,”  “Rob  Roy,”  “The 
Bride  of  Lamniermoor,”  and  a number  of  other  novels,  which  were  received 
with  great  delight  b}^  the  literary  public.  It  gradually  became  known  that 
Scott  was  the  author  of  all  these  works,  and  his  home  at  Abbotsford,  which 
he  had  purchased  in  1811,  became  the  resort  of  visitors  of  eveiy  rank.  He 
received  all  with  the  unstudied  simplicit}^  of  manner  which  made  him  the 
most  delightful  of  companions.  His  mornings  until  eleven  o’clock  were 
devoted  to  composition,  and  the  rest  of  the  day  to  the  improvement  of  his 
grounds  or  the  entertainment  of  his  guests  and  family.  Although  lame 
from  his  infancy,  Scott  was  an  indefatigable  walker  and  rider.  His  winters 
were  passed  in  Edinburgh. 

In  1820  the  title  of  baronet  was  conferred  upon  him  by  George  IV. 
In  1826  the  failure  of  two  publishing  houses  which  printed  Scott’s  works, 
and  in  one  of  which  he  was  a partner,  involved  him  in  debt  to  the  amount 
of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  He  was  compelled  to  give  up 
his  house  in  Edinburgh,  and  most  of  his  available  means  were  devoted  to  the 
liquidation  of  this  immense  debt.  For  several  3^ears  he  worked  diligentU" 
with  his  pen  to  reimburse  his  fortunes,  until  both  brain  and  bod3"  gave  out 
and  S3nnptoms  of  paralysis  began  to  appear.  Hoping  to  be  restored  to 
health  he  went  to  Ita^^  but  his  strength  continued  to  fail,  and  after  a few 
months  he  requested  to  be  taken  to  his  native  country,  that  he  might  die  in 
sight  and  sound  of  the  Tweed.  He  reached  Abbotsford  in  a state  of  insen- 
sibilit34  and  after  reviving  a few  moments,  in  the  presence  of  familiar  scenes 
and  faces,  he  relapsed  again  into  unconsciousness,  and  so  passed  away 
(1832).  He  was  buried  in  Dryburgh  Abbe3q  which  had  belonged  to  one  of 
his  ancestors. 


GREAT  ENGLISH  AUTHORS. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  novelist  and  jioet,  liorn  in  1771 ; 
died  in  1832. 

Herbert  Spencer,  born  in  1820. 


Lord  Byron,  poet,  born  in  1788  ; died  in  1824. 

Lord  Tennyson,  poet,  born  in  1809;  died  in  1892. 
Charles  Dickens,  novelist,  born  in  1812  ; died  in  1870. 


Victor  Hugo,  i)orn  1.S02;  died  1885. 

Alplionsc  I>audet,  bom  1810. 

Alexander  Itunias,  born  1808;  died  1870. 

Hoiiore  de  b>a)/ac, 


Alfred  de  Musset,  born  1810  ; died  1857. 
Emile  Zola,  born  1840. 

Joseph  Erneste  Kenan,  born  1823;  died  18J2, 
1799;  died  1850. 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LITERATURE 


303 


By  dint  of  his  extraordinary  exertions  Scott  had  paid,  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death,  upward  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  his  debts.  The 
liberal  advances  of  his  publisher  satisfied  all  the  remaining  claims  of  his 
creditors. 

Scott's  popularity  as  a novelist  is  still  imdiminished.  The  historical 
tendency  which  he  gave  to  imaginative  literature  has  led  to  important 
results  in  other  fields  of  literary  labor. 

Goethe. — Johann  Wolfgang  von  Goethe,  the  most  illustrious  German 
writer  of  the  nineteenth  century,  was  born  at  Frankfort-on-the-Maiii  in 
1749.  His  earl 3^  studies  were  conducted  at  home  under  his  father’s  super- 
intendence. Goethe  was  a precocious  child.  Before  he  was  ten  years  old 
he  wrote  several  languages,  including  French,  Latin,  and  Greek,  invented, 
stories,  and  was  moderate!}^  familiar  with  works  of  art.  At  sixteen  he  went 
to  Leipsic  to  commence  his  collegiate  course.  Here  he  mastered  with  an 
easy  grace  law,  medicine,  logic,  philosoph}^,  and  all  the  manifold  sciences 
and  arts  of  a German  universit}^  iVfter  an  interval  of  sickness  at  home, 
during  which  he  commenced  the  study  of  chemistiy,  the  efiect  of  which  is 
seen  in  Faust,”  he  went  to  the  University  of  Strasburgto  complete  his  law 
studies  at  the  wish  of  his  father.  In  one  year  Goethe  earned  his  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Laws  and  left  the  university,  but  it  was  evident  that  law  was  not 
to  be  Goethe’s  vocation. 

In  1774  he  published  ‘‘  The  Sorrows  of  Young  Werther.”  The  most 
distinguished  literary  men  praised  it  as  a profoundly  philosophical  romance, 
while  the  masses  were  carried  away  b}^  its  eloquence  and  pathos.  The  fame 
acquired  by  “ Werther  ” brought  Goethe  under  the  notice  of  Charles 
Augustus,  the  Grand  Duke  of  Saxe-Weimar,  and  in  1775  Goethe  was 
invited  to  spend  a few  weeks  at  his  court.  A strong  friendship  sprang  up 
between  the  prince  and  the  poet,  and  Goethe  thereafter  made  Weimar  his 
home.  In  the  circle  of  literary  notables  at  the  duke’s  court  Goethe  at  once 
became  the  presiding  deity. 

In  1786  Goethe  went  to  Italy,  where  he  spent  two  years  in  the  study  of 
its  antiquities  and  arts.  On  his  return  he  published  “ Egmont,”  a romantic 
drama,  founded  upon  the  revolution  in  the  Netherlands  in  the  sixteenth 
century. 

Goethe  first  became  acquainted  with  Schiller  in  1794.  Schiller’s 
influence  upon  Goethe  was  both  stimulating  and  ennobling,  and  from  this 
time  forth  Goethe  produced  his  grandest  works.  “ Faust,”  the  great  work 
of  his  life,  was  published  in  1805.  This  most  profound,  touching,  and 


394 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LITERATURE 


wonderful  drama  raised  Goethe  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  fame,  and  he  was 
universally  acknowledged  to  be  the  first  poet  of  his  age.  In  1831  a second 
part  to  “ Faust  ” appeared,  but  it  was  vastly  inferior  to  the  first. 

Goethe  died  in  1832,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-two.  His  works 
embrace  almost  every  department  of  literature.  They  have  exercised  an 
immense  influence,  not  only  in  Germany,  but  over  the  entire  civilized  world. 

Tennyson. — Alfred  Tennyson  was  born  in  Lincolnshire,  England,  in 
1809.  His  father.  Dr.  George  Tennyson,  was  a clergyman.  Alfred  was 
educated  in  Cambridge,  where,  in  1829,  he  ^'^ceived  a medal  for  a prize  poem 
in  blank  verse,  entitled  Timbuctoo.”  He  was  still  an  undergraduate  at 
college  when  he  published,  in  1830,  a volume  called  Poems,  Chiefly 
Lyrical.”  It  made  little  impression  upon  the  public.  His  second  vol- 
ume, in  1833,  containing,  besides  several  poems  from  the  first,  a number  of 
new  ones,  The  May  Queen,”  “ The  Palace  of  Art,”  “ A Dream  of  Fair 
Women,”  ‘‘The  Lotos  Eaters,”  and  others,  extended  the  yet  small  circle  of 
his  admirers. 

In  the  main,  his  second  collection  was  severely  noticed  by  the  critics, 
and  for  nine  years  he  remained  silent.  He  then  published  some  of  the  most 
admirable  illustrations  of  his  power,  among  them  “ Morte  d’Arthur,” 
“ Locksley  Hall,”  “ Dora,”  and  “ Ulysses.”  In  1850  appeared  the  poems 
of  “ In  Menioriam,”  designed  to  express  the  feelings  caused  b}^  the  death  of 
his  most  intimate  friend,  Arthur  Henry  Hallam.  The  volume  contains  one 
liundred  and  twenty-nine  short  poems  replete  with  wisdom  and  beauty. 

In  1851,  Tennyson  was  appointed  poet-laureate  after  the  death  of  Words- 
worth, his  gifted  predecessor.  The  custom  of  crowning  with  laurel  the 
poets  successful  in  a musical  contest  originated  with  the  Greeks,  and  from 
them  the  practice  was  adopted  by  the  Romans.  It  was  revived  in  the  twelfth 
century  by  the  emperors  of  Germany,  by  whom  the  title  of  poet-laureate — 
i.  a poet  officially  crowned  with  laurel — was  invented. 

The  early  histoiy  of  the  laureateship  in  England  is  traditional.  The 
common  story  is  that  Edward  HI  in  1367  granted  the  office  to  Geoffrey 
Chaucer,  with  a yearly  pension  of  one  hundred  marks  and  a tierce  of 
Malvoisie  wine.  The  laureatship  was  not  regularly  established  until  the 
reign  of  James  I.  At  first  the  poet-laureate  was  expected  to  write  a poem 
on  all  public  events  connected  with  the  court,  such  as  a birth  or  a marriage 
in  the  royal  family.  Since  Southey’s  time,  however,  they  have  written  at 
their  own  discretion.  Wordsworth  wrote  nothing  in  return  for  the  distinc- 
tion, and  Tennyson  wrote  but  little. 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LITERATURE 


395 


LKADTNG  KNGUvSlI  POETS 

Byron,  ShkleHY,  and  Keats. — These  three  poets,  separated  as  they 
were  in  many  ways,  have  one  point  in  common.  To  each  death  came 
early — finding  Keats  and  Shelley,  at  least,  with  unsung  songs  upon  their 
lips.  When  we  consider  the  greatness  of  their  place  in  English  poetry, 
and  the  role  that  Byron  played  in  the  intellectual  movement  of  his  time, 
we  wonder  to  find  that  neither  Keats  nor  Shelley  reached  thirt}",  and  that 
at  thirty-six  Byron’s  stormy  and  passionate  career  was  ended.  And  their 
achievement  seems  the  more  remarkable  when  we  reflect,  further,  that  the 
work  of  Wordsworth,  the  greatest  figure  in  the  trio  of  poets  immediately 
preceding,  covered  nearly  half  a century,  while  that  of  Keats  and  Shelley, 
and  all  the  important  work  of  Lord  Byron,  was  crowded  into  the  twelve 
years  following  the  appearance  of  “ Childe  Harold.” 

Of  these  three  poets,  Byron  and  Shelley  stand  together  as  poets  of  the 
Age  of  Revolution,  while  Keats,  ignoring  human  interests  and  shunning 
those  social  questions  which  were  still  convulsing  Europe,  luxuriated  in  tke 
beautiful,  if  enervating,  world  which,  his  imagination  had  created. 

The  advance  of  modern  democracy,  and  those  hopes  for  the  future  of 
humanity  which  came  with  it,  are  vital  elements  in  English  literature  from 
the  latter  part  of  the  last  century  down  to  our  own  day.  In  the  lives  of 
Byron  and  Shelley,  as  in  those  of  Wordsworth,  Coleridge,  and  Southey, 
these  elements  played  an  important  part.  But  to  the  older  group  of  poets, 
whose  young  eyes  saw  the  fall  of  the  Bastile,  the  revolution  seemed  to 
promise  everything ; to  the  younger,  who  grew  up  to  witness  the  downfall 
of  the  republic  and  the  establishment  of  the  Napoleonic  despotism,  it 
seemed  to  have  performed  nothing.  The  older  group  outlived  their  first 
disappointment,  and  settled  down  with  advancing  years  into  a quiet  conser- 
vatism. The  younger,  thus  early  set  face  to  face  with  a world  of  dis- 
illusions and  of  blasted  hopes,  were  moved  to  bitter  denunciations  or  to 
gloomy  forebodings. 

prominent  ENGLISH  NOVELISTS 

Charles  Dickens. — Dickens  was  the  second  of  eight  children.  • His 
earliest  associations  were  with  the  humbler  and  harsher  side  of  life  in  a 
metropolis,  as  his  father,  John  Dickens,  a clerk  in  the  navy  pay-office,  was 
transferred  from  Portsmouth  to  London  in  1814.  The  knowledge  thus 
hardly  gained  through  early  struggles  and  privations  became  a storehouse 
from  which  Dickens  drew  freely  in  his  later  work.  The  Marshalsea 
prison,  where  John  Dickens  was  confined  for  debt,  is  described  in  “ Little 
Dorrit”;  in  '‘David  Copperfield,”  the  most  autobiographical  of  the  novels, 


396 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LITERATURE 


David’s  experience  as  a wine  merchant’s  apprentice  may  have  been  sug- 
gested by  Warren’s  blacking  factory,  where  Dickens  worked  as  a boy,  while 
his  youthful  struggles  with  shorthand  and  reporting  are  reflected  in  Cop- 
perfield’s  later  history.  Remembering  the  great  novelist’s  early  experience^ 
it  seems  but  natural  that  he  should  have  chosen  to  let  in  the  sun  and  air 
on  some  of  the  shabbier  and  darker  phases  of  existence,  depicting  many 
social  gradations,  from  obscure  respectability,  through  the  vagrants  and  ad- 
venturers in  the  outer  circles  of  society,  down,  as  in  “ Oliver  Twist  ” (1837- 
1838),  to  the  very  dens  and  devices  of  open  crime.  There  is  Jo,  the  London 
street  waif  of  “Bleak  House”  (1852-1853),  “ allers  a movin’  on”;  Jingle, 
the  gay  and  voluble  impostor  of  “Pickwick”  (1836-1837);  and  that  ques, 
tionable  fraternity,  the  Birds  of  Prey,  that  flit  about  the  Thames  in  “ Our 
Mutual  Friend  ” (1864-1865).  Yet  through  this  portrayal  of  the  under  strata 
of  society  there  runs  a strong,  perhaps  a sometimes  too  apparent,  moral  pur- 
pose. Take  us  where  he  will,  Dickens’  art  is  always  pure,  sound,  and  whole- 
some. : ' 

It  is  as  a humorist  that  Dickens  is  at  his  best.  There  is  a whimsical 
and  ludicrous  extravagance  in  his  humor,  an  irresistible  ingenuity  in  the 
ridiculous,  peculiar  to  him  alone.  From  the  time  when  a delighted  people 
waited  in  rapturous  impatience  for  the  forthcoming  number  of  “ Pickwick,” 
to  the  publication  of  the  unfinished  “ Edwin  Drood  ” (1870),  nineteenth  cen- 
tury England  laid  aside  her  weariness  and  her  problems  to  join  in  Dickens’ 
overflowing,  infectious  laughter.  When  we  are  ungrateful  enough  to  be 
critical  of  one  who  has  rested  so  many  by  his  genial  and  kindly  fun,  we 
must  admit  that  Dickens  was  neither  a profound  or  truthful  interpreter  of 
life  and  character.  His  is  for  the  most  part  a world  of  caricature,  peopled, 
not  with  real  living  persons,  but  with  eccentricities  and  oddities,  skillfully 
made  to  seem  like  flesh  and  blood.  We  know  them  from  some  peculiarity 
of  speech  or  manner,  some  oft-repeated  phrase ; they  are  painted  from 
without ; we  are  rarely  enabled  to  get  inside  of  their  lives,  and  look  out  at 
the  world  through  their  eyes.  The  result  is  often  but  a clever  and  amusing 
burlesque  of  life,  not  life  itself  It  may  also  be  admitted  that  we  feel  at 
times  in  Dickens  the  absence  of  that  atmosphere  of  refinement  and  cultiva- 
tion which  is  an  unobtrusive  but  inseparable  part  of  the  art  of  Thackeray, 
Without  detracting  from  some  famous  and  beautiful  scenes,  Dickens’  pathos 
is  often  forced  and  premeditated,  his  sentiment  shallow,  while  there  are 
heights  from  which  he  is  manifestl}^  shut  out.  When  he  attempts  to  draw 
a gentleman,  or  an  average  mortal  distinguished  by  no  special  absurdities, 
the  result  is  apt  to  be  singularly  insipid  and  lifeless.  Notwithstanding  these 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LITERATURE 


397 


shortcomings,  Dickens  has  won  notable  successes  outside  the  field  of  pure 
humor.  His  “Tale  of  Two  Cities”  (1859)  is  a powerful  story,  quite 
different  from  his  usual  manner,  and  many  scenes  throughout  his  other 
books,  as  the  famous  description  of  the  storm  in  “ David  Copperfield,”  are 
triumphs  of  tragic  power. 

WiLiyiAM  Makepeace  Thackeray  is  the  keen  but  kindly  satirist  of  that 
surface  world  of  frivolity  and  fashion  into  which  the  art  of  Dickens  so 
seldom  penetrates.  Thackeray  was  born  at  Calcutta,  but  was  early  sent  to 
England  for  his  education.  He  had  something  of  that  regular  training 
which  Dickens  lacked,  going  to  Cambridge  from  the  Charterhouse  vSchool  in 
London.  He  left  college,  however,  shortly  after  entering,  to  study  art  on 
the  Continent,  and  finally,  losing  his  money,  he  returned  to  England,  and 
about  1837  drifted  into  literature.  After  writing  much  for  periodicals,  he 
made  his  first  great  success  in  “ Vanity  Fair  ” (1847-1848).  In  this  book^ 
under  its  satiric  and  humorous  delineation  of  a world  of  hollowness  and 
pretense,  runs  the  strong  current  of  a deep  and  serious  purpose.  “ Such 
people  there  are,”  Thackeray  writes,  stepping  “ down  from  the  platform,”  like 
his  master.  Fielding,  to  speak  in  his  own  person — “ such  people  there  are, 
living  and  flourishing  in  the  world — Faithless,  Hopeless,  Charityless  ; let 
us  have  at  them,  dear  friends,  with  might  and  main.  Some  there  are,  and 
very  successful,  too,  mere  quacks  and  fools;  and  it  was  to  combat  and 
expose  such  as  these,  no  doubt,  that  laughter  was  made.” 

The  passage  is  better  than  any  outside  comment  on  the  spirit  of  Thack- 
eray’s work  ; only  the  shallow  and  nndiscriminating  reader  fails  to  see  that 
Thackeray’s  seriousness  is  deeper  and  more  vital  than  his  cynicism  ; that 
though  the  smile  of  the  man  of  the  world  be  on  his  lips,  few  hearts  are 
more  gentle,  more  compassionate,  more  tender ; that  though  he  is  quick  to 
scorn,  few  eyes  have  looked  out  on  this  unintelligible  world  through  more 
kindly  or  more  honest  tears.  Satirist  that  he  is,  he  kneels  with  the  genuine 
and  whole-souled  devotion  of  Chaucer,  of  Shakespeare,  of  Milton,  before 
the  simple  might  of  innocence  and  of  goodness.  In  the  midst  of  this  world 
of  “ Vanity  Fair,”  with  its  pettiness,  its  knavery,  and  its  foolishness,  he 
places  the  unspoilt  Amelia  and  the  honest  and  faithful  Major  Dobbin.  If 
in  “ Pendennis  ” we  have  the  world  as  it  looks  to  the  idlers  in  the  major’s 
club  windows,  we  have  also  Laura,  and  “ Pen’s  ” confiding  mother,  apart 
from  it,  and  unspotted  by  its  taint.  But  more  beautiful  than  all  other 
creations  of  Thackeray’s  reverent  and  loving  nature  is  the  immortal 
presence  of  Colonel  Newcome,  the  man  whose  memory  we  hold  sacred  as 


398 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LITERATURE 


that  of  one  we  have  loved — the  strong,  hninhle,  simple-minded  gentleman, 
the  grizzled  soldier  with  the  heart  of  a little  child. 

In  addition  to  his  work  as  painter  of  contemporary  manners,  Tliackera}^ 
has  enriched  the  literatnre  two  remarkable  historical  novels,  ‘‘  Henry 
Esmond”  (1852)  audits  sequel,  “The  Virginians”  (1857-1859).  In  the  first 
of  these  we  have  the  fruits  of  Thackeray’s  carefnl  and  loving  study  of 
eighteenth  century  England,  a period  with  which  he  was  especially 
identified,  and  which  he  had  treated  criticalh^  with  extraordinary  charm  and 
sympath}^  in  his  “ Lectures  on  English  Humorists  ” (pub.  1853).  “Esmond” 
is  one  of  the  greatest,  possibl}^  the  greatest  historical  novel  in  English 
fiction.  The  story  is  supposed  to  be  told  b}^  Esmond  himself,  and  the  book 
seems  less  that  of  a modern  writing  about  the. past  than  the  contemporar}^ 
record  of  the  past  itself.  Nothing  is  more  wonderful  in  it  than  the  art  with 
which  Thackeray  abandons  his  usual  manner  to  identify  himself  with  the 
narrator  he  has  created.  Yet  in  this,  perhaps,  we  should  rather  see  the  real 
tender-hearted  Thackeray,  his  thin  veil  of  cynicism  thrown  aside. 

George  Eliot. — Among  the  many  women  who  have  gained  distinction 
as  writers  of  fiction  since  the  appearance  of  Miss  Burney’s  “ Evelina,”  one 
at  least  cannot  be  passed  over  in  the  briefest  survey.  George  Eliot  (Mary 
Ann  Evans,  1820-1881)  stands  easily  in  the  front  rank  of  English  novelists, 
and  must,  moreover,  be  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  representative  and 
influential  writers  of  the  latter  half  of  the  century.  She  was  born  at 
Chilvers  Coton  Parish,  in  Warwickshire,  the  county  of  intermingled  Celt 
and  English  that  has  given  so  much  to  literature.  Her  father,  like  the 
elder  Car^de,  was  a plain,  capable,  practical  man  ; one  of  those  who  do  the 
world’s  work  faithfully  and  silently.  His  daughter  has  preserved  for  ns 
some  traits  of  his  strong,  simple  nature  in  the  character  of  Caleb  Garth,  in 
“ Middlemarch.”  Much  of  George  Eliot’s  best  work  deals  with  those  phases 
of  English  provincial  life  among  which  many  of  her  early  years  were 
passed.  With  a broader  scope,  a freer  and  more  masculine  handling  than 
that  of  any  writer  who  had  preceded  her  in  the  field,  by  such  novels  as 
“Adam  Bede”  (1859),  “The  Mill  on  the  Floss”  (i860),  and  “Middle- 
march”  (1871-1872),  she  is  as  emphatically  the  great  painter  of  English 
country  life  as  Dickens  is  of  the  slums  and  of  the  poor,  or  Thackeray  of 
club  life  and  of  fashion.  “ Romola,”  an  historical  novel  of  the  Florence  of 
Savonarola,  is  her  one  notable  departure  from  her  chosen  sphere.  George 
Eliot’s  work  fills  ns  with  an  intense  sense  of  reality.  Her  characters  are 
substantial,  living  people,  drawn  with  a Shakesperean  truth  and  insight. 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LITERATURE 


399 


111  order  to  interest  us  in  them  she  is  not  forced,  as  Dickens  was,  to  rel}^  on 
outward  eccentricities.  In  Tom  and  Maggie  TulHver,  in  Dorothea  Brooke, 
in  Tito  Melema,  or  in  Gwendolen  Harleth,  we  enter  into  and  identify  our- 
selves with  the  inner  experiences  of  a human  soul.  These  and  the  other 
great  creations  of  George  Eliot’s  genius  are  not  set  characters  ; like  ourselves, 
they  are  subject  to  change,  acted  upon  others,  acting  on  others  in  their 
turn  ; molded  by  the  daily  pressure  of  things  within  and  things  without. 
We  are  made  to  understand  the  growth  or  the  degeneration  of  their  souls; 
how  Tito  slips  half-consciously  down  the  easy  slopes  of  self-indulgence,  or 
Romola  learns  through  suffering  to  ascend  the  heights  of  self-renunciation. 
The  novels  of  George  Eliot  move  under  a heavy  weight  of  tragic  earnestness  ; 
admirable  as  is  their  art,  graphic  and  telling  as  is  their  humor,  they  are 
weighed  down  with  a burden  of  philosophic  teaching,  which  in  the  later 
books,  especiall}"  “ Daniel  Deronda,”  grows  too  heavy  for  the  story,  and 
injures  the  purely  literary  value. 


CHAPTER  XL 


THE  SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY — OUR  NAVY 

j 

[With  Introduction  by  Rear-Admiral  Melville] 

Taking  the  nineteentli  centur}^  as  a whole,  I think  its  greatest  achieve- 
ment has  been  the  marvelous  development  and  progess  in  the 
application  of  mechanics,  of  physics,  to  the  comforts,  needs,  and 
aspirations  of  man. 

From  the  rudest  stage  of  society  there  has  existed  no  more  potent 
influence  for  civilizing,  humanizing,  ennobling  mankind  than  the  practical 
cultivation  of  the  mechanic  arts. 

In  worthy  progress  and  success  there  are  three  principal  elements — 
character,  intellect,  and  physical  health.  Aside  from  physical  health  (which 
the  sanitary  engineer,  co-operating  with  the  physician,  promotes  by  provid- 
ing properly  ventilated  buildings,  light,  heat,  S3^stems  of  drainage  and  water 
supply),  which  must  be  premised  as  generall}^  existing,  as  it  is  the  basis  of 
all  normal  activity,  what  does  engineering  do  toward  cultivating  the  two 
essential  elements  of  success  ? 

Practical  morality  has  always  been  associated  with  the  industrial  arts  ; 
man  employed  is  a proper  being.  In  the  mechanical  world,  difficulties  are 
met  which  have  to  be  overcome  in  no  equivocal  manner.  The  artisan’s  life 
is  strenuous  and  decisive ; this  develops  his  character.  The  engineer  deals 
directly  with  the  laws  of  the  universe — he  has  to  be  exact.  His  work  trains 
the  mind  and  develops  sound  judgment ; error  means  failure.  His  whole 
life  is  conducive  to  sound  morality,  clear  thinking,  and  a superior  form  or 
culture.  Franklin’s  maxim,  “ God  helps  those  who  help  themselves,”  is 
especially  exemplified  in  the  career  of  an  engineer. 

Success  and  progress  in  engineering,  therefore,  demand  and  foster  the 
essential  elements  to  worth}^  success  and  progress  of  luimanity  in  general. 
In  the  application  of  physical  science — a science  whose  scope  is  so  vast 
400 


GEOllGK  W.  MELVILLE, 

Rear-Admiral  United  States  Navy, 

Contributes  the  cliapter  in  tliis  volume  on  “ The  Scientitie  Achievements  of  the  Nineteenth  Century 


(JREAT  INVENTORS. 


Kli  Whitney,  horn  in  ITfiS;  died  in  182"). 

•lohn  Ericsson,  horn  in  Sweden  in  1803;  died  in  1889. 
Robert  Fulton,  horn  in  1765;  died  in  1815. 

Filias  Howe,  horn  in  1819  ; died  in  1867. 

Cyrus  H,  McCormick,  liorn  in  1809  ; died  in  1884. 


Samuel  F.  R.  Morse,  horn  in  1791  ; died  in  1872. 
Rol)ert  Stephenson,  liorn  in  England  in  180.3;  died  in 
1859. 

Edward  Marconi  is  a young  Italian,  made  famous  hy 
his  successes  with  wireless  telegraphy. 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIECEMENTS  OE  THE  CENTURY 


401 


— the  engineer  takes  no  insignificant  part.  He  has  contributed  largely  to 
the  progress  of  the  nineteenth  centuiy.  When  speaking  of  the  engineer,  I 
mean,  in  the  broad  sense,  the  master  mind  and  hand  that  studies  and  makes 
use  of  the  physics  of  the  earth,  the  air,  the  ocean,  and  converts  it  to  the  use 
of  man  for  his  health,  progress,  and  happiness.  His  genius  is  felt  and  seen 
in  every  great  work  of  the  da3^  In  agricultural  implements,  mining,  sani- 
tation, electrical  and  other  application,  architecture  and  bridge  building, 
manufacture  of  textile  fabrics,  transportation — in  the  whole  industrial  world, 
at  every  turn  are  met  evidences  of  his  skill,  ingenuity,  and  science. 

Mark  the  milestones  of  his  triumphal  march  ! Witness,  as  instances, 
the  introduction  of  steam,  apart  from  other  uses,  revolutionizing  travel  by 
land  and  sea.  The  suspension  bridge,  the  lightning  express,  the  ocean 
greyhound,  are  monuments  to  engineering  skill  and  science.  The  advance 
in  manufacture  of  steel  and  application  of  electricity  are  marvels  of  the 
decade.  From  the  cambric  needle  to  the  ponderous  battleship,  with  its 
thirteen-inch  guns — all,  all  is  the  work  of  the  engineer! 

Generali}^  speaking,  the  past  determines  the  future,  and  it  is  1113^  opinion 
that  just  as  the  advancement  of  the  mechanic  arts  has  contributed  most  to 
the  welfare  and  happiness  of  mankind  during  the  nineteenth  century,  so  will 
its  further  advancement  carr3^  forward  the  glorious  progress  of  the  twentieth 
century. 

Since  writing  the  foregoing — a brief  expression  of  my  opinion  as  to 
the  part  played  by  the  engineer  in  the  progress  of  the  nineteenth  century 
— I have  been  asked  to  add  something  on  the  progress  of  engineering  in 
the  American  navy  and  our  growth  as  a sea  power  during  that  century.  It 
is  an  exceeding  pleasure  to  comply  with  this  request,  since,  aside  from  the 
vast  importance  of  a nav3^  to  a nation,  in  no  other  field  has  the  engineer 
such  an  opportunit3^  to  displa3"  his  skill,  science,  and  ingenuity,  and  to 
prove  his  devotion  to  his  country. 

His  zeal,  ability,  and  stout  heart  have  stood  him  in  good  stead  during 
the  struggle  of  steam  for  supremacy,  and  at  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury the  naval  engineer  can  look  back  upon  his  many  achievements  and 
victories  with  a feeling  of  pride  and  satisfaction. 

When  we  read  the  glorious  deeds  of  our  naval  heroes — from  John  Paul 
Jones  to  George  Dewey — and  see  how  naval  power  has  been  the  mainstay 
and  preserver  of  the  nation,  we  are  naturall3^  curious  to  know  what,  besides 
unerring  judgment,  indomitable  pluck,  and  sublime  courage,  were  the  mate- 
rials they  had  at  their  command  to  work,  each  in  his  age,  the  wonders  they 
have  wrought.  Man’s  inherent  nature  remains  fixed — the  fire  of  heroism 


402 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


burns  steadily  in  all  ages — but  tbe  means  lie  has  employed  and  the  weapons 
he  has  used  in  warfare  have  undergone  most  sweeping  changes  and  mar- 
velous development. 

In  tracing  rapidly  the  principal  achievements  of  American  engineers  in 
our  navy,  I can  only  give  the  barest  outline  of  the  work  that  has  been 
accomplished,  the  strenuous  toil  to  solve  the  man 3^  problems  presented,  and 
the  grave  responsibilities  assumed.  It  need  not  be  noted  that  the  develop- 
ment in  naval  engineering  has  been  possible  only  by  the  general  advance- 
ment in  science  and  manufacturing  industries. 

The  engineers  of  England,  France,  and  America  have  been  the  leaders 
in  the  development  of  steam  machinery  in  navies,  and  in  this  rivalry  for 
supremacy  America  has  more  than  once  forged  ahead. 

Though  full  credit  must  be  given  these  two  countries,  American  inven- 
tive genius  may  be  truly  said  to  have  left  an  indelible  impress  upon  naval 
development.  It  must  be  remembered  that  to  Watt,  the  inventor  of  the 
steam  engine,  the  re-creation  of  the  navies  of  the  world  is  due. 

The  first  steam  war  vessel  in  the  world  was  built  for  the  American 
navy,  and  designed  by  an  American  engineer,  Robert  Fulton,  the  father  of 
steam  navigation.  This  vessel  was  called  the  “ Demologos,”  or  Fulton 
the  First.” 

Each  succeeding  steam  vessel  added  to  our  nav}^  since  the  first  one  was 
built  showed  a steady  and  marked  improvement,  till,  at  the  time  of  the  civil 
war,  our  frigates  were,  in  machinery,  ordnance,  and  hull,  second  to  none. 

The  stimulus  derived  from  the  necessities  of  that  great  conflict  gave 
birth  to  a steam  navy,  and  the  work  done  at  that  period  by  naval  engineers 
stood  the  test  of  time,  and  remained  for  man}^  years  models  of  the  best  naval 
engineering  skill  and  science. 

The  marvelous  engineering  genius  of  Ericsson,  the  inventor  of  the  first 
monitor,  designed  for  his  adopted  country ; the  consummate  skill  and  scien- 
tific attainments  of  Engineer-in-Chief  Isherwood,  the  designer  of  the 
“ Wampanoag,”  a vessel  years  ahead  of  her  time,  which  exceeded  by  from 
three  to  four  knots  any  vessel  of  her  da}^,  holding  the  record  for  eleven 
years  ; the  ability  of  Dahlgren,  whose  experiments  and  discoveries  in  ord- 
nance gave  our  guns  a world-wide  reputation  for  efficiency  and  power — all 
vastly  contributed  to  the  development  and  evolution  of  the  modern  ship 
of  war. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  interest  in  the  navy  lagged,  and  nothing  of 
great  importance  marks  the  history  of  our  naval  shipbuilding  till  1883, 
when  the  foundation  of  the  ‘‘  new  navy  ” was  laid. 


SCII:XTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


403 


From  the  building  of  the  White  Squadron  ” to  the  present  day  our 
growth  as  a naval  power  has  been  a source  of  national  pride ; and  well  may 
the  people  be  proud  of  tlie  growth  of  a navy  whose  glorious  deeds  shine  on 
the  page  of  histoiy  with  undiminished  lustre,  an  inspiration  for  the  genera- 
tions to  come ! Its  brilliant  achievements  and  thrilling  heroism  have  saved 
the  countiy  in  iiiaii}^  a dark  hour  of  peril.  What  American’s  heart  does 
not  quicken  at  the  mention  of  the  Constitution  ” or  the  Oregon  ” ? 

In  1882  our  naval  force  comprised  but  thirteen  monitors  of  obsolete 
type,  armed  with  muzzle-loading  smooth-bores,  and  thirty-seven  unprotected 
wooden  cruisers. 

To-day  we  have,  not  including  a large  number  of  auxiliaiy  vessels, 
forty  battleships,  armored  cruisers,  and  monitors,  twenty-four  protected 
cruisers,  forty  gunboats,  fifty-two  torpedo-boats,  besides  fifty-nine  other 
craft,  including  training  and  receiving  ships,  tugs,  etc.,  making  a grand 
total  in  the  regular  navy  of  two  hundred  and  fifteen  vessels.  Singly,  our 
ships,  in  hull,  machinery,  and  armament,  equal  any  in  the  world. 

Apart  from  a love  for  my  profession,  I consider  it  my  greatest  good- 
fortune  and  honor  to  have  been  associated  with  the  development  of  what 
has  been  so  aptly  termed  the  “ new  navy,”  and  to  watch,  as  it  were,  the 
growth  of  our  young  sea  giant — a growth  to  something  near  adequate  for 
the  needs  and  protection  of  our  country. 

In  the  development  of  the  modern  warship  progress  has  seemingly  out- 
stripped itself,  and  hardly  has  one  ship  been  completed  and  seen  actual  serv- 
ice than  much  of  her  structural  details,  machinery,  and  armament  become 
comparatively  obsolete. 

A warship  must  be  seagoing,  be  able  to  give  and  take  heavy  blows, 
and,  as  well,  have  ample  speed  to  chase  or  elude  the  enemy. 

The  preponderance  of  one  element  over  another  in  the  design  of  the 
vessel  has  given  different  types  or  classes,  as  in  the  battleship  speed  is  sac- 
rificed, in  the  armored  cruiser  guns  and  armor  give  way  to  greater  speed, 
while  with  the  torpedo-boat  the  aim  of  the  design  is  the  extraordinarily  high 
speed  to  successfully  launch  the  fatal  bolt. 

A warship  cannot  be  the  creation  of  one  man’s  intellect.  Its  principal 
designers,  the  naval  architect,  the  marine  engineer,  and  the  ordnance  expert 
— all  engineers — aim  for  a perfect  combination,  while  endeavoring  to  secure 
the  maximum  results  of  their  specialty. 

Besides  his  principal  work  to  mold,  to  power,  and  to  arm  the  ship,  it  is 
needless  to  recount  the  many  evidences  of  the  skill  and  science  of  the  en- 
gineer. He  makes  the  vessel  habitable  and  comfortable  by  providing  light, 


404 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OE  THE  CENTURY 


heat,  and  pure  air  by  artificial  means,  distils  water  for  the  crew’s  health, 
devises  drainage  systems,  builds  and  equips  workshops  on  board  for  routine 
repairs,  employs  steam,  hydraulic,  electric,  or  pneumatic  power  to  raise 
anchor,  steer  ship,  revolve  turrets,  to  load,  elevate,  and  train  the  guns,  and 
in  the  driving  of  a hundred  and  one  appliances  that  are  the  fruits  of  his 
busy  brain. 

The  close  of  the  nineteenth  centuiy  witnesses  the  building  of  battle- 
ships with  displacements  over  three  times  greater  than  the  most  ponderous 
of  their  predecessors  that  carried  sail. 

A single  fact  gives  some  idea  of  the  growth  of  the  gun.  From  the 
Oregon’s  ” main  battery  can  be  hurled  a projectile  weighing  twenty-six 
times  that  of  the  heaviest  shot  used  one  hundred  years  ago. 

Upon  speed  hinges  the  result  of  many  a naval  conflict  which  may  de- 
cide the  fate  of  nations.  At  the  crucial  moment  at  Santiago,  when  it 
seemed  that  the  Vizcaya  ” and  “ Colon  ” would  escape,  the  “ Oregon’s  ” 
speed  increased  to  sixteen  knots,  and  soon  drove  the  Vizcaya  ” to  the 
shore  in  flames,  the  ‘‘  Colon  ” on  the  beach,  her  colors  struck,  literally  run 
down  to  death. 

Taking  the  Oregon”  as  an  embodiment  of  the  American  warship,  we 
have  in  her  unapproachable  record  during  the  war  with  Spain  undying  tes- 
timony to  the  ability  and  zeal  of  the  engineer,  beside  which  all  eulogy  were 
useless,  all  words  were  weak. 

With  the  many  changes  in  the  structure,  armament,  and  machinery  of 
ships  the  naval  officer  has  kept  pace,  until  to-day  he  is  a man  well  versed 
in  many  arts  and  sciences.  In  his  hands  rests  the  honor  of  the  navy,  as  in 
the  days  of  the  sailing  vessel ; upon  his  intelligence  to  direct  the  compli- 
cated mechanism  governing  the  movements  and  operations  of  his  ship  in 
peace  and  war,  and  his  ability  to  carr}^  her  safely  over  the  seas,  depend 
\vhether  the  new  navy  sustains  the  glorious  record  won  b}^  the  old. 

It  is  but  simple  truth  and  justice  to  say  that  the  engineer  dominates 
naval  warfare  ; and  nothing  is  belittled  or  denied  by  telling  this  truth.  To 
put  it  briefly — all  military  warfare  is  but  organized  force,  and  what  is  the 
function  of  the  engineer  but  to  understand,  guide,  and  control  force? 

The  captain  of  to-da}^  is  an  engineer,  and  just  so  far  as  he  understands 
the  mechanism  of  his  vessel  will  his  executive  power  be  illumined  b}^  wisdom, 
and  the  handling  of  his  ship  and  trained  men  be  productive  of  good  results. 
Engineering  knowledge  is  imperative  for  the  sagacious  planning  of  a battle, 
for  carrying  out  in  practice  the  principles  of  strategy  ; and  it  is  the  neces- 
sary foundation  for  an  efficient  sea  fighter  of  the  hour. 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


405 


Above  all  it  must  be  appreciated  that  only  the  perfect  combination  of 
the  cool  head  and  the  trained  hand  will  win  the  day  of  battle  ; that  no  mere 
machine  can  ever  take  the  place  of  judgment,  pluck,  and  courage,  while  all 
the  human  qualities  but  enable  man  to  fight  well  and  die  bravely  in  the  face 
of  overwhelming  force. 

There  have  been  times  when,  owing  to  lack  of  interest,  our  naval 
development  has  lagged,  and  to-day  our  navy  in  size  is  not  what  it  should 
be  (though  ship  against  ship,  gun  against  gun,  we  dread  no  foe)  ; but  the 
late  exceedingly  favorable  and  spirited  action  of  Congress — expressing  the 
universal  wish  of  the  people — following  favorable  action  of  immediately 
preceding  years,  shows  that  the  day  of  economy  and  retrenchment  is  over. 

To  the  question  so  often  raised.  Why  counsel  the  building  of  a huge 
naval  force  ? it  may  be  answered  that  so  long  as  wars  exist  navies  must  be. 
If  history  is  philosophy  teaching  by  example,’’  it  certainly  points  to  the 
woful  fate  of  the  nation  that  is  deficient  in  naval  power. 

The  greatest  consolation  that  our  better  and  higher  natures  may  feel 
lies  in  the  fact  that  “eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  liberty,”  and  hence 
peace  ; and  that  in  the  possession  of  a thoroughly  equipped  and  efficient 
navy  America  will  rest  secure  in  the  friendship  of  the  civilized  powers,  and 
command  the  respect  of  restless  and  belligerent  ones ; and,  being  so  well 
prepared  for  both  defensive  and  offensive  warfare,  will  avert  actual  conflict 
and  all  the  more  quietly  pursue  the  loftiest  vocations  of  peace. 

Let  us  not  rear  a huge  navy  with  the  idea  of  possessing  a concentrated 
military  force,  to  conquer  by  might,  but  to  have  that  which  will  ever  guide 
and  direct,  as  well  as  secure,  the  right.  Let  us  ever  have  in  mind,  when  we 
see  the  flag  floating  proudl}^  over  our  ponderous  battleships,  that  that  flag  does 
not  represent  military  despotism,  but  this  nation,  the  sweet  land  of  liberty. 

DISCOVERIES  AND  INVENTIONS 

The  century  has  seen  science  in  every  branch  of  its  stupendous  tree  of 
knowledge  put  forth  new  shoots  and  blossom  quickly  into  fruition.  Let  us 
take  a look  at  some  of  the  most  marvelous  of  modern  discoveries  and 
inventions : 

Besseimer  Steel. — Sir  Henry  Bessemer,  the  inventor  of  the  modern 
process  of  making  steel  from  iron,  was  born  in  1813.  At  twenty  he  invented 
a mode  of  taking  copies  from  antique  and  modern  basso-relievos  in  such  a 
way  that  they  might  be  stamped  on  card-board,  thousands  being  produced  at 
a small  cost.  His  inventive  faculty  also  devised  a read}^  method  whereby 
those  who  were  defrauding  the  government  by  detaching  old  stamps  from. 


406 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


leases,  money-bills,  and  agreements,  and  by  using  them  over  again,  could  be 
defeated  in  their  purpose.  His  first  pecuniary  success  was  obtained  by  his 
invention  of  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  Bessemer  gold  and  bronze 
powders,  which  was  not  patented,  but  the  nature  of  which  was  long  kept.- 
secret.  Another  successful  invention  was  a machine  for  making  Utrecht 
velvet.  He  also  interested  himself  in  the  manufacture  of  paints,  oils,  and 
varnishes,  sugar,  railway  carriages,  ordnance,  projectiles,  and  the  ventilation 
of  mines.  In  the  exhibition  of  1851  he  exhibited  an  ingenious  machine 
for  grinding  and  polishing  plate  glass.  Like  Lord  Armstrong,  Bessemer 
turned  his  attention  to  the  subject  of  the  improvement  of  projectiles  when 
there  was  a prospect  of  an  European  war  in  1853.  He  invented  a mode  of 
firing  elongated  projectiles  from  smooth-bore  guns,  but  received  no  counte-' 
nance  from  the  officials  at  Woolwich. 

In  August,  1856,  he  read  his  famous  paper  before  the  British  Associa- 
tion “ On  the  Manufacture  of  Malleable  Iron  and  Steel  without  Fuel,’^ 
which  startled  the  iron  trade  of  the  world.  Several  leading  men  in  the  iron 
trade  took  licenses  for  the  new  manufacture,  • which  brought  Bessemer 
$135,000  within  thirty  days  of  the  time  of  reading  his  paper.  These 
licenses  he  aftenvard  bought  back  for  $155,000,  giving  fresh  ones  in 
their  stead.  Some  of  the  early  experiments  failed,  and  it  was  feared  the 
new  method  would  prove  impracticable.  These  experiments  failed  because 
of  the  presence  of  phosphorus  in  the  iron.  But  Bessemer  worked  steadily  in 
order  to  remove  the  difficulties  which  had  arisen,  and  a chemical  laboratory 
was  added  to  his  establishment,  with  a professor  of  chemistry  attached. 
Success  awaited  him.  The  new  method  of  steel-making  spread  into  France 
and  Sweden,  and  in  1879  the  works  for  making  Bessemer  steel  were  eighty- 
four  in  number,  and  represented  a capital  of  more  than  three  millions.  liis 
process  for  the  manufacture  of  steel  raised  the  annual  production  of  steel  in 
England  from  50,000  tons  by  the  older  processes  to  as  many  as  2,000,000 
tons  in  some  years.  It  was  next  used  for  boiler  plates ; shipbuilding  with 
Bessemer  steel  was  begun  in  1862,  and  now  it  is  employed  for  most  of  the 
purposes  for  which  malleable  iron  was  formerly  used.  The  production  of 
Europe  and  America  in  1892  was  over  10,000,000  tons,  of  a probable  value 
of  $420,000,000,  sufficient,  as  has  been  remarked,  to  make  a solid  steel  wall 
round  London  forty  feet  high  and  five  feet  thick.  It  would  take,  according 
to  the  inventor,  two  or  three  years’  production  of  all  the  gold  mines  in  the 
world  to  pay  in  gold  for  the  output  of  Bessemer  steel  for  one  year.  The 
price  of  steel  previous  to  Huntsman’s  process  was  about  $50,000  per  ton ; 
after  him,  from  $250  to  $500.  Now  Bessemer  leaves  it  at  $25  to  $30  per 


NEW  Y(^RK  IN  1790. 

NEW 'YORK  IN  1900. 

The  population  of  New  York  City  in  1790  was  33,131  ; in  1900  (estimated),  3,595,936.  It  would  require  a volume  to 
set  forth  the  amazing  growth  of  the  metropolis  of  our  country  during  the  last  century,  for  it  would  of  necessity  include 
a history  of  the  jirogress  and  development  of  science,  art,  literature  and  every  de])artnient  <>f  human  thought  and 
industry  as  shown  in  this  country.  But  scenes  like  the  above  suggest  in  a partial  way  some  j)hases  of  this  marveioua 
growth. 


THK  I’AST  AXI)  THK  PRESENT. 

"I'lie  “ .“'avail nah  ” was  the  first  steamship  to  cross  the  Atlaiilie  Ocean,  .“^he  was  liuilt  in  New  York  and  launched 
early  in  HIQ.  .<he  left  .\'ew  '^'ork  in  March  of  that  year,  making  thy  run  to  Savannah  in  si.x  days,  thongli  it  is  now  made 
in  two  days.  She  was  owned  hy  a niimlx'r  of  merchants  in  Savannah,  and  on  May  20,  1819,  under  command  of  Captain 
Moses  I'odgers,  sailed  for  Liverjiool,  where  she  arrived  twenty-two  days  later,  having  made  eighteen  days  of  the  jiassage 
under  steam. 

d'he  “Oceanic,”  one  of  the  modern  “ocean  greyhounds,”  of  the  White  Star  Line,  was  huilt  in  1899;  has  a gross 
tonnage  of  17.040  tons,  27,000  horse-power,  a length  of  085  feet,  and  makes  the  ocean  trip  in  one-fourth  of  the  time  taken 
by  the  “•Savannah.”  It  is  the  largest  ship  in  the  world. 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


407 


ton.  And  a process  wliicli  occupied  ten  days  can  be  acconiplislied  within 
half  an  hour.  In  his  sketch  of  the  Bessemer  Steel  Industry,  Past  and 
Present”  (1894),  Sir  Henry  Bessemer  said:  “It  is  this  new  material,  so^ 
much  stronger  and  tougher  than  common  iron,  that  now  builds  our  ships  of 
war  and  our  mercantile  marine.  Steel  forms  their  boilers,  their  propeller 
shafts,  their  hulls,  their  masts  and  spars,  their  standing  rigging,  their  cable 
chains  and  anchors,  and  also  their  guns  and  armor-plating.  This  new 
material  has  covered  with  a network  of  steel  rails  the  surface  of  ever}^  country 
in  Europe,  and  in  America  alone  there  are  no  less  than  175,000  miles  of 
Bessemer  steel  rails.”  These  steel  rails  last  six  times  longer  than  if  laid 
of  iron. 

Bessemer  was  knighted  in  1879,  and  received  many  gold  medals  from 
scientific  institutions.  In  addition,  to  use  his  own  words,  he  received  in  the 
form  of  royalties  1,057,748  of  the  beautiful  little  gold  medals  (sovereigns) 
issued  by  her  majesty’s  mint.  The  method  chosen  by  the  Americans  to 
perpetuate  his  name  has  been  the  founding  of  the  growing  centre  of  industry 
called  Bessemer,  in  Indiana,  while  Bessemer,  in  Penns3dvania,  is  the  seat  of 
the  great  Edgar  Thomson  steel  works.  Thus  the  man  who  was  at  first 
neglected  by  government  became  wealth^’  beyond  the  dreams  of  avarice,  and 
his  name  is  immortal  in  the  annals  of  manufacturing  industry. 

The  Sewing  Machine. — There  w^as  in  London  a cabinet-maker,  called 
Thomas  Saint,  who,  in  or  about  1790,  took  out  a patent  for  a machine  for 
sewing  leather,  or  rather  for  “ quilting,  stitching,  and  making  shoes,  boots, 
spatterdashes,  clogs,  and  other  articles.”  This  patent,  unfortunately,  was 
taken  out  along  with  other  inventions  in  connection  with  leather,  and  it 
was  quite  by  accident  that,  some  eighty  years  later,  the  specification  of  it 
was  discovered  b}"  one  wdio  had  made  for  himself  a name  in  connection  wdth 
sewing  machines.  Even  the  Patent  Office  did  not  seem  to  have  known  of 
its  existence,  yet  now  it  is  clear  enough  that  Thomas  Saint’s  leather-sewing 
machine  of  1790  was  the  first  genuine  sewing  machine  ever  constructed,  and 
that  it  was  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  “ chain-stitch  ” principle.  Rude 
as  it  was,  it  is  declared  by  experts  to  have  anticipated  most  of  the  ingenious 
ideas  of  half  a century  of  successive  inventors,  not  one  of  whom,  however, 
could,  in  all  human  probability,  have  as  much  as  heard  of  Saint’s  machine. 
This  is  not  the  least  curious  incident  in  the  history  of  the  sewing  machine. 

In  1830,  one  Thimonnier,  a Frenchman,  constructed  a machine,  princi- 
pall}^  of  wood,  with  an  arrangement  of  barbed  needles,  for  stitching  gloves, 
and  in  the  following  year  he  began  business  in  Paris,  with  a partner,  as  an 


408 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


army  clothier.  The  firm  of  Thimonnier,  Petit  & Co.,  however,  did  not 
thrive,  because  the  workpeople  thought  they  saw  in  the  principal’s  machine 
an  instrument  destined  to  ruin  them  ; much  as  the  Luddites  viewed  steam 
machinery  in  the  cotton  districts  of  England.  An  idea  of  that  sort  rapidly 
germinates  heat,  and  Thimonnier’s  workshop  was  one  day  invaded  by  an 
angry  mob,  who  smashed  all  the  machines  and  compelled  the  inventor  to 
seek  safety  in  flight.  Poor  Thimonnier  was  absent  from  Paris  for  three 
years,  but  in  1834  returned  with  another  and  more  perfect  machine.  This 
was  so  coldly  received,  both  by  employers  and  workmen  in  the  tailoring 
trade,  that  he  left  the  capital,  and,  journeying  through  France  with  his 
machine,  paid  his  way  by  exhibiting  it  in  the  towns  and  villages  as  a curi- 
osity. After  a few  years,  however,  Thimonnier  fell  in  with  a capitalist  who 
believed  in  him  and  his  machine,  and  was  willing  to  stake  money  on  both. 
A partnership  was  entered  into  for  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  the  machine, 
and  all  promised  well  for  the  new  firm,  when  the  revolution  of  1848  broke 
out,  stopped  the  business,  and  ruined  both  the  inventor  and  the  capitalist. 
Thimonnier  died  in  1857,  in  a poor-house,  of  a broken  heart. 

This  French  machine  was  also  on  the  chain-stitch  principle,  but  it 
was  forty  years  later  than  Saint’s.  In  between  the  two  came,  about  1832^ 
one  Walter  Hunt,  of  New  York,  who  is  said  to  have  constructed  a sewing 
machine  with  the  lock-stitch  movement.  Some  uncertainty  surrounds 
this  claim,  and  Elias  Howe  is  the  person  usually  credited  with  this  im- 
portant, indeed  invaluable  invention.  Whether  Howe  had  ever  seen  Hunt’s 
machine,  we  know  not ; but  Hunt’s  machine  was  never  patented,  seems 
never  to  have  come  into  practical  working,  and  is,  indeed,  said  to  have  been 
unworkable.  There  is,  besides,  in  the  Polytechnic  at  Vienna  the  model  of 
a machine,  dated  1S14,  constructed  b}^  one  Joseph  Madersberg,  a tailor  of 
the  T3^rol,  which  embodies  the  lock-stitch  idea — working  with  two  threads. 
But  this  also  was  unworkable,  and  Elias  Howe  has  the  credit  of  having 
produced  the  first  really  practical  lock-stitch  sewing  machine. 

Gold  and  DiamonDvS. — Just  before  the  Californian  discoveries — namely, 
in  1849 — world’s  annual  output  of  gold  was  only  about  $30,000,000.  Then 
came  the  American  and  x\ustralian  booms,  raising  the  quantity  produced 
in  1853  to  the  value  of  $150,000,000.  After  1853  there  Vv^as  a gradual  de- 
cline to  less  than  $100,000,000  in  1883.  This  was  the  lowest  period,  and 
then  the  De  Kaap  and  other  discoveries  in  Africa  began  to  raise  the  total 
.slow]\^  again.  Between  1883  and  1887  El  Callao  mine  in  South  Amer- 
ica and  the  Mount  Morgan  in  Australia  helped  greatly  to  enlarge  the  out- 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


l()l> 

put,  and  then  hi  1887  the  “ Randt  ” began  to  yield  of  its  riches.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  estimates  of  a mining  expert  of  the  world’s  gold  production  : 
During  1890,  $118,500,000;  1891,  $130,650,000 ; 1892,  $146,300,000 ; 1893, 
$155,550,000;  1894,  $180,000,000;  1895,  $200,000,000. 

As  to  the  future  of  the  South  African  sources  of  supply,  it  is  estimated 
by  Messrs.  Hatch  & Chalmers,  mining  engineers,  who  have  published  an 
exhaustive  work  on  the  subject,  that  before  the  end  of  the  present  century 
the  Witwatersrandt  mines  alone  will  be  yielding  gold  to  the  value  of  $100,- 
000,000  annually;  that  early  next  century  they  will  turn  out  $130,000,000 
annually,  and  that  the  known  resources  of  the  district  are  equal  to  a total 
production  within  the  next  half  century  of  three  and  one-half  billion  dollars, 
of  which,  probably,  one  billion  dollars  will  be  clear  profit  over  the  cost  of 
mining. 

These  estimates  are  considered  excessive  by  some  authorities  ; never- 
theless, it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  productivity  of  deep-level  mining 
has  not  yet  been  properly  tested,  that  even  the  Transvaal  itself  has  not  yet 
been  thoroughly  exploited,  and  that  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that 
Matabeleland  and  Mashonaland  are  also  rich  in  gold.  But  we  have  not  to 
look  to  Africa  alone.  In  Australia,  besides  the  regular  sources  of  supply^ 
which  are  being  industriously^  developed,  new  deposits  are  being  opened  up 
in  Western  Australia  at  such  a rate  that  some  people  predict  that  the 
“ Cinderella  of  the  Colonies  ” will  soon  become  the  richest,  or  one  of  the 
richest,  members  of  the  family. 

The  following  shows  the  contributions  toward  the  world’s  gold  supply 
on  the  basis  of  1894:  United  States,  $39,750,000;  Australasia,  $41,760,000; 
South  Africa,  $40,270,000  ; British  Columbia  and  South  America,  $10,000,- 
000  ; Russia,  $24,135,000  ; other  countries,  $24,035,000  ; total,  $179,950,000. 

Johannesburg  the  Golden. — India  was  formerly  the  only  country 
which  yielded  diamonds  in  quantity,  and  thence  were  obtained  all  the  great 
historical  stones  of  antiquity.  The  chief  diamond-producing  districts  are 
those  in  the  Madras  Presidency,  on  the  Kistna  and  Godavari  Rivers,  com- 
monly though  improperly  termed  the  Golconda  region  ; in  the  central  prov- 
inces, including  the  mines  of  Sumbulpur ; and  in  Bundelkhand,  where  the 
Panna  mines  are  situated. 

At  present  the  diamond  production  of  India  is  insignificant.  It  is  nota- 
ble, however,  that  in  1881  a fine  diamond,  weighing  67^3  carats,  was  found 
near  Wajra  Karur,  in  the  Bellary  district,  Madras.  The  stone  was  cut  into 
a brilliant  weighing  24^3  carats,  and  is  known  as  the  ‘‘  Gor-do-Norr.” 


410 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


Brazil  was  not  regarded  as  a diamond-yielding  country  until  1727, 
when  the  true  nature  of  certain  crystals  found  in  the  gold  washings  of  the 
province  of  Minas  Geraes  was  first  detected.  Diamonds  occur  not  only  in 
this  province,  but  in  Bahia,  Goyaz,  Matto  Grosso,  and  Parana.  The  geolog- 
ical conditions  under  which  the  mineral  occurs  have  of  late  years  been  care- 
fully studied  by  Professors  Derb}",  Gorceix,  and  Chatrian.  The  diamonds 
are  found  in  the  sands  and  gravels  of  river  beds,  associated  with  alluvial 
gold,  specular  iron  ore,  rutile,  anatase,  topaz,  and  tourmaline.  In  1853  an 
extraordinary  diamond  was  found  by  a negress  in  the  River  Bogagem,  in 
Minas  Geraes.  It  weighed  254^  carats,  and  was  cut  into  a brilliant  of  per- 
fect water,  weighing  125  carats.  This  brilliant,  known  as  the  ‘‘  Star  of  the 
South,”  was  sold  to  the  Gaikwar  of  Baroda  for  $400,000. 

Both  the  Indian  and  the  Brazilian  diamond  fields  have  of  late  years 
been  eclipsed  by  the  remarkable  discoveries  of  South  Africa.  Although  it 
was  known  in  the  last  century  that  diamonds  occurred  in  certain  parts  of 
South  Africa,  the  fact  was  forgotten,  and  when,  in  1867,  they  were  found 
near  Hopetown,  the  discovery  came  upon  the  world  as  a surprise.  A trav- 
eler named  O’Reill}^  had  rested  himself  at  a farm  in  the  Hopetown  dis- 
trict, when  his  host,  a man  named  Niekirk,  brought  him  some  nice-looking 
stones  which  he  had  got  from  the  river.  O’Reilly,  when  examining  the 
pebbles,  saw  a diamond,  which  afterward  realized  $2,500.  Niekirk  after- 
ward bought  a diamond  from  a native  for  $2,000  which  realized  $50,000. 
The  principal  mines  are  situated  in  Griqualand  West,  but  diamonds  are 
also  worked  in  the  Orange  River  Free  State,  as  at  Jagersfontein.  The 
stones  were  first  procured  from  the  ‘‘river  diggings”  in  the  Vaal  and 
Orange  Rivers.  These  sources  have  occasionally  3delded  large  stones ; 
one  found  in  1872  at  Waldeck’s  Plant,  on  the  Vaal,  weighed  2SSj4>  carats, 
and  yielded  a fine  pale-yellow  brilliant,  known  as  the  “ Stewart.” 

It  was  soon  found  that  the  diamonds  of  South  Africa  were  not  con- 
fined to  the  river  gravels,  and  “ dry  diggings  ” came  to  be  established  in 
the  so-called  “ pans.”  The  principal  mines  are  those  of  Kimberley,  De 
Beer’s,  Du  Toit’s  Pan,  and  Bultfontein.  The  land  here,  previously  worth 
only  a few  pence  per  acre,  soon  rose  to  a fabulous  price.  At  these  localities 
the  diamonds  occur  in  a serpentinous  breccia,  filling  pipes  or  “ chimneys,” 
generally  regarded  as  volcanic  ducts,  which  rise  from  unknown  depths  and 
burst  through  the  surrounding  shales.  The  “blue  ground,”  or  volcanic 
breccia,  containing  fragments  of  various  rocks  cemented  by  a serpentinous 
paste,  becomes  altered  by  meteoric  agents  as  it  approaches  the  surface, 
and  is  converted  into  “ yellow  earth.”  At  Kimberley  the  neighboring  schists, 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


4U 


or  reefs,”  are  associated  with  sheets  of  a basaltic  rock,  which  are  pierced  by 
the  pipes.  About  2,000  white  men  are  employed  in  the  industry,  and  about 
4,000  blacks,  who  earn,  on  an  average,  about  $15.00  a week.  In  the  year  1887 
the  production  of  the  principal  mines  was  over  $20,000,000.  The  produc- 
tion for  1894  was  somewhat  less,  while  the  total  value  of  diamonds  exported 
from  1867  to  1894  was  about  $350,000,000. 

The  great  number  of  large  stones  found  in  the  mines  of  South  Africa, 
as  compared  with  those  of  India  and  Brazil,  is  a striking  peculiarity.  In 
the  earliest  days  of  African  mining  a diamond  of  about  83  carats  was 
obtained  from  a Boer.  This  stone,  when  cut,  yielded  a splendid  colorless 
brilliant  of  46^  carats,  known  as  the  “ Star  of  South  Africa,”  or  as  the 
Dudley,”  since  it  afterward  became  the  property  of  the  Countess  of  Dudley, 
at  a cost  of  $125,000.  Some  of  the  African  stones  are  “off-colored” — that 
is,  of  pale  yellow  or  brown  tints  ; but  a large  gem  of  singular  purity  was 
found  at  Kimberley  in  1880.  This  is  the  famous  “ blue-white  ” diamond  of 
150  carats,  known  from  the  name  of  its  possessor  as  the  “ Porter  Rhodes.” 
At  the  De  Beers  mine  was  found,  in  1889,  the  famous  stone  whieh  was 
shown  at  the  Paris  Exposition.  It  weighed  428^  carats  in  the  rough,  and 
228^  carats  when  eut.  It  measured  one  inch  and  seven-eighths  in  greatest 
length,  and  was  about  an  inch  and  a half  square. 

Even  larger  than  this  remarkable  stone  is  a diamond  found  in  the 
Jagersfonteiii  mine  in  1893,  and  named  the  “ Jagersfontein  Excelsior.”  This 
is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  valuable  diamonds  in  the  world.  It  is  of  blue- 
white  color,  very  fine  quality,  and  measures  three  inches  at  the  thickest  part. 
The  gross  weight  of  this  unique  stone  was  no  less  than  969^  carats  (or 
about  6^  oz.),  and  the  following  are  its  recorded  dimensions  : Length,  2^ 
inches  ; greatest  width,  2 inches  ; smallest  width,  inch  ; extreme  girth 
ill  width,  5^  inches  ; extreme  girth  in  length,  6^  inches.  It  is  impossible 
to  say  what  is  the  value  of  so  phenomenal  a gem.  We  do  not  know  that 
an  estimate  has  been  even  attempted ; but  it  may  easily  be  two  and  one-half 
millions,  if  the  cutting  is  successful.  The  diamond  has,  however,  a blaek 
flaw  in  the  centre.  It  is  the  property  of  a syndicate  of  London  diamond 
merehants.  The  native  who  found  it  evaded  the  overseer  and  ran  to  head- 
quarters to  secure  the  reward,  which  took  the  form  of  $500  in  gold  and  a 
horse  and  cart. 

Previous  to  this  discovery,  the  most  famous  of  the  African  diamonds 
was,  perhaps,  the  “Pam”  or  “Jagersfonteiii”  stone,  not  so  much  from  its 
size  as  because  the  queen  had  ordered  it  to  be  sent  to  Osborne  for  her 
inspection  with  a view  to  purchase,  when  the  untimely  death  of  the  Duke  of 


412 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


Clarence  put  an  end  to  the  negotiations.  The  “ Pam  ” is  only  of  55  carats 
now  ; but  it  weighed  112  carats  before  being  cut,  and  is  a stone  of  remarkable 
purity  and  beauty.  Its  present  value  is  computed  at  about  $125,000. 

The  most  valuable  diamond  in  the  world  is  the  famous  “ Braganza 
gem  belonging  to  Portugal.  It  weighed  in  the  rough  state  1,680  carats,  and 
was  valued  at  upward  of  $25,500,000. 

Cycling. — The  pastime  of  cycling,  at  first  only  patronized  by  athletic 
youth,  has  now  spread  to  every  class  of  the  community.  The  vast  improve- 
ment in  machines  and  the  health  and  exhilaration  to  be  gained  by  the 
exercise  have  had  much  to  do  with  its  popularity  alike  with  aristocracy  and 
democracy.  Like  golf,  it  has  come  to  stay,  although  many  who  take 
cycling  up  for  amusement  will  drop  it  again,  as  they  would  do  anything 
else.  But  there  will  always  remain  a strong  and  increasing  contingent, 
fully  aware,  by  practical  experience,  of  its  health  and  pleasure  giving 
powers,  who  will  place  it  second  to  no  existing  recreation.  And  so  the 
cyclist  gets  gleams  and  glances  of  beauty  from  many  a nook  and  corner  of 
the  land,  where  railway,  coach,  or  his  unaided  pedestrian  powers  would 
never  carry  him.  It  has  widened  a twent3^-mile  radius  to  a forty-mile 
radius,  and  increased  man’s  locomotive  powers  threefold.  Let  no  one 
imagine  that  there  is  not  a considerable  amount  of  exertion  and  fatigue, 
and  sometimes  hardship.  But  it  is  of  a wholesome  kind,  when  kept  within 
limits,  and  physicall}^,  morally,  and  socially,  the  benefits  that  cycling  con- 
fers on  the  men  of  the  present  day  are  almost  unbounded. 

Steamers  and  Sailing  Ships. — In  considering  the  development  of 
maritime  commerce,  it  is  always  to  be  remembered  that  the  design  of 
Columbus  and  the  early  navigators  in  sailing  westward  was  not  to  find 
America,  but  to  find  a new  way  to  India  and  Far  Cathay.  Mighty  as 
America  has  become  in  the  world’s  economy,  its  first  occupation  was  only 
an  incident  in  the  struggle  for  the  trade  of  the  Far  East.  But  with  the 
occupation  of  America  came  two  new  developments  in  this  carrying  trade 
— namely,  one  across  the  Atlantic,  and  one  upon  and  across  the  Pacific. 
To  the  eventful  year  in  which  so  many  great  enterprises  were  founded — 
namely,  1840 — we  trace  the  beginning  of  steam  carrying  on  the  Pacific, 
for  in  that  year  William  Wheelwright  took  or  sent  the  first  steamer  round 
Cape  Horn,  as  the  pioneer  of  the  great  Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Company. 
Within  about  a dozen  years  thereafter  x\mericans  had  some  fifty  steamers 
constantly  engaged  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  the  two  continents,  besides  those 
of  an  English  company.  Out  of  one  of  those  Pacific  lines  grew  Commo- 


SCIENTIPIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OE  THE  CENTURY 


413 


dore  Vaiiderbilt^s  Nicaragua  Transit  Company,  a double  service  of  two 
lines  of  steamers,  one  on  each  side  of  the  continent,  with  an  overland  con- 
nection through  Nicaragua.  Out  of  another  grew  the  New  York  and  San 
Francisco  line,  connecting  overland  across  the  isthmus  of  Panama — where 
M.  de  Lesseps  did  not  succeed  in  cutting  a canal.  And  out  of  yet  another 
of  those  Pacific  enterprises,  all  stimulated  b}^  Wheelwright’s  success,  grew 
in  the  course  of  years  a line  between  San  Francisco  and  Hawaii,  and 
another  between  San  Francisco  and  Australia.  Some  forty  years  ago  the 
boats  of  this  last-named  line  used  to  run  down  to  Panama  to  pick  up  pas- 
sengers  and  traffic  from  Europe,  and  it  is  interesting  to  recall  that  at  that 
period  the  design  was  greatly  favored  of  a regular  steam  service  between 
England  and  Australia  via  Panama.  A company  was  projected  for  the 
purpose ; but  it  came  to  nothing,  for  various  reasons  not  necessary  to  enter 
upon  here.  But  as  long  ago  as  the  early  fifties,  when  the  Panama  Railway 
was  in  course  of  construction,  there  were  eight  separate  lines  of  steamers 
on  the  Atlantic  meeting  at  Aspinwall,  and  five  on  the  Pacific  meeting  at 
Panama.  Later  on,  when  the  Americans  had  completed  their  iron  roads 
from  ocean  to  ocean  across  their  own  dominions,  they  started  lines  of 
steamers  from  San  Francisco  to  China  and  Japan.  And  later  still,  when 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  was  completed  across  Canada,  a British  line 
of  ships  was  started  across  the  Pacific  to  Far  Cathay,  and  afterward  to 
Australia  and  New  Zealand.  So  that  the  dream  of  the  old  navigators  has, 
after  all,  been  practically  realized. 

It  is  computed  that  on  the  great  ocean  highways  there  are  not  fewer  than 
ten  thousand  large  and  highly  powered  steamers  constantly  employed.  If 
it  be  wondered  how  sailing  vessels  can  maintain  a place  at  all  in  the  race  of 
competition  in  the  world’s  carrying  trade,  a word  of  explanation  may  be 
offered.  Do  not  suppose  that  only  rough  and  low-valued  cargo  is  left  for 
the  sailers.  They  still  have  the  bulk  of  the  cotton  and  wheat  and  other 
valuable  products,  not  only  because  they  can  carry  more  cheaply,  but  be- 
cause transport  by  sailing  vessels  gives  the  merchant  a wider  choice  of 
market.  Cargoes  of  staple  products  can  always  be  sold  ‘‘  to  arrive  ” at 
some  given  port,  and  it  is  cheaper  to  put  them  afloat  than  to  warehouse 
them  ashore  and  wait  for  an  order. 

What,  then,  are  the  proportions  borne  by  the  several  maritime  nations  in 
this  great  international  carr3dng  trade  ? The  question  is  not  one  which  can  be 
answered  with  absolute  precision,  but  the  tables  of  the  marine  department 
of  the  Liverpool  Board  of  Trade  enable  one  to  find  an  approximate  answer. 
In  1893  the  tonnage  of  steam  and  sailing  vessels  of  all  nationalities  in  the 


414 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIFJ^EMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


foreign  trade  entering  and  clearing  at  ports  in  the  United  Kingdom  was 
74,632,847,  of  which  54,148,664  tons  were  British,  and  20,484,183  tons  were 
foreign.  In  the  foreign  total,  the  largest  proportions  were  Norwegian, 
German,  Dutch,  Swedish,  Danish,  and  French.  The  Teutonic  races  have 
thus  the  most  of  the  ocean  carrying ; the  United  States’  proportion  of  the 
above  total  was  small. 

The  First  Steamer  to  Cross  the  Atlantic. — The  earliest  steam- 
ers the  world  ever  saw,  not  reckoning  the  experimental  craft  constructed  by 
such  men  as  Fulton,  Symington,  and  Watt,  were  those  employed  in  the 
transatlantic  trade.  As  far  back  as  the  year  1819  the  American  paddle- 
steamer  “ Savannah,”  of  three  hundred  tons  burden,  crossed  from  the  port 
of  that  name,  in  Georgia,  to  Liverpool.  She  occupied  twenty-five  days  upon 
the  passage ; but  as  she  was  fully  rigged,  and  under  all  sail  during  at  least 
two-thirds  of  the  voyage,  the  merit  of  her  performance,  as  an  illustration 
of  the  superiority  of  the  engine  over  canvas,  is  somewhat  doubtful.  Yet 
she  was  beyond  dispute  the  first  steamer  to  accomplish  a long  sea  voyage, 
and  to  America  belongs  the  credit  of  her  exploit. 

The  Telegraph. — It  was  in  1832,  during  a voyage  from  Havre  to 
New  York  in  the  packet  “ Sully,”  that  Mr.  S.  F.  B.  Morse,  then  an  artist, 
conceived  the  idea  of  the  electro-magnetic  marking  telegraph,  and  drew  a 
design  for  it  in  his  sketch-book.  But  it  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  1838 
that  he  and  his  colleague,  Mr.  Alfred  Vail,  succeeded  in  getting  the  appa- 
ratus to  work.  Judge  Vail,  the  father  of  Alfred,  had  found  the  money  for 
the  experiments  ; but  as  time  went  on  and  no  result  was  achieved,  he  became 
disheartened,  and  perhaps  annoyed  at  the  sarcasms  of  his  neighbors,  so  that 
the  inventors  were  afraid  to  meet  him.  “ I recall  vividly,”  sa3^s  Mr.  Baxter, 
even  after  the  lapse  of  so  many  years,  the  proud  moment  when  Alfred  said 
to  me,  ‘ William,  go  up  to  the  house  and  invite  father  to  come  down  and  see 
the  telegraph  machine  work.’  I did  not  stop  to  don  my  coat,  although  it 
was  the  6th  of  January,  but  ran  in  my  shop  clothes  as  fast  as  I possibly 
could.  It  was  just  after  dinner  when  I knocked  at  the  door  of  the  house,  and 
was  ushered  into  the  sitting-room.  The  judge  had  on  his  broad-brimmed 
hat  and  surtout,  as  if  prepared  to  go  out  ; but  he  sat  before  the  fireplace, 
leaning  his  head  on  his  cane,  apparently  in  deep  meditation.  As  I entered 
his  room  he  looked  up  and  said,  ‘ Well,  William  ?’  and  I answered,  ‘ Mr. 
Alfred  and  Mr.  Morse  sent  me  to  invite  you  to  come  down  to  the  room  and 
see  the  telegraph  machine  work.’  He  started  up,  as  if  the  importance  of 
the  message  impressed  him  deepl}^  ; and  in  a few  minutes  we  were  standing 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


415 


in  the  experimental  room.  After  a short  explanation,  he  called  for  a piece 
of  paper,  and  writing  upon  it  the  words,  ‘ A patient  waiter  is  no  loser,’  he 
handed  it  to  Alfred,  saying,  ‘ If  3^011  can  send  this  and  Mr.  Morse  can  read 
it  at  the  other  end,  I shall  be  convinced.’  The  message  was  received  by 
Morse  at  the  other  end,  and  handed  to  the  j udge,  who,  at  this  unexpected 
triumph,  was  overcome  by  his  emotions.”  The  practical  value  of  the  inven- 
tion was  soon  realized;  by  1840  telegraph  lines  were  being  made  in  civilized 
countries,  and  ere  long  extended  into  the  network  of  lines  which  now  en- 
circle the  globe  and  bring  the  remotest  ends  of  the  earth  into  direct  and 
immediate  communication. 

Atlantic  Cables. — A year  or  two  before  the  first  attempt  to  lay  an 
Atlantic  cable  there  were  only  eighty-seven  nautical  miles  of  submarine 
cables  laid ; now  the  total  length  of  these  wonderful  message-carriers  under 
the  waves  is  over  one'^hundred  and  sixty  thousand  five  hundred  English 
statute  miles.  There  are  now  fourteen  cables  crossing  the  Atlantic,  which 
are  owned  by  six  different  companies. 

The  charter  which  Mr.  Cyrus  W.  Field  obtained  for  the  New  York, 
Newfoundland,  and  London  Telegraph  Company  was  granted  in  the  year 
1854.  It  constructed  the  land-line  telegraph  in  Newfoundland,  and  laid  a 
cable  across  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  ; but  this  was  only  the  commence- 
ment of  the  work.  Soundings  of  the  sea  were  needed ; electricians  had  to 
devise  forms  of  cable  most  suitable  ; engineers  to  consider  the  methods  of 
carrying  and  of  laying  the  cable  ; and  capitalists  had  to  be  convinced  that 
the  scheme  was  practicable,  and  likely  to  be  remunerative ; while  govern- 
ments were  appealed  to  for  aid.  Great  Britain  readily  promised  aid ; but 
the  United  States  Senate  passed  the  needful  bill  by  a majority  of  one. 

But  when  the  first  Atlantic  cable  expedition  left  the  coast,  of  Kerry,  it 
was  a stately  squadron  of  British  and  American  ships  of  war,  such  as  the 
“ Niagara  ” and  the  “Agamemnon,”  and  of  merchant  steamships.*  The  Lord- 
Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  directors  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Compan}^  and  of 
British  railways,  were  there,  with  representatives  of  several  nations  ; and 
when  the  shore  end  had  been  landed  at  Valentia,  the  expedition  left  the 
Irish  coast  in  August,  1857.  When  three  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles  of 
the  cable  had  been  laid,  it  parted,  and  high  hopes  were  buried  many  fathoms 
below  the  surface. 

The  first  expedition  of  1858  also  failed  ; the  second  one  was  successful ; 
and  on  the  i6th  of  August  in  that  year  Queen  Victoria  congratulated  the 
President  of  the  United  States  “ upon  the  successful  completion  of  this 


416 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


great  international  work  ” ; and  President  Buchanan  replied,  trusting  that 
the  telegraph  might  “ prove  to  be  a bond  of  perpetual  peace  and  friendship 
between  the  kindred  nations.”  But  after  a few  weeks’  work,  the  cable  gave 
its  last  throb  and  was  silent. 

Not  until  1865  was  another  attempt  made,  and  then  the  cable  was  broken 
after  twelve  hundred  miles  had  been  successfully  laid.  Then,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Mr.  (afterward  Sir)  Daniel  Gooch,  the  Anglo-American  Telegraph 
Company  was  formed  ; and  on  July  13,  1866,  another  expedition  left  Ireland, 
and  toward  the  end  of  the  month  the  “ Great  Eastern  ” glided  calmly  into 
Heart’s  Content,  “ dropping  her  anchor  in  front  of  the  telegraph  house, 
having  trailed  behind  her  a chain  of  two  thousand  miles  to  bind  the  Old 
World  to  the  New.” 

But  the  success  of  the  year  was  more  than  the  mere  laying  of  a cable — 
the  “ Great  Eastern  ” was  able,  in  the  words  of  the  late  Lord  Iddesleigh,  to 
complete  the  laying  of  the  cable  of  1866,  and  the  recovering  that  of  1865.” 

The  Telephone. — So  much  have  times  altered  in  the  last  fifty  years 
that  the  electric  telegraph  itself  is  threatened  in  its  turn  with  serious  rivalry 
at  the  hands  of  a youthful  but  vigorous  competitor,  the  telephone.  Great 
inventions  are  often  conceived  a long  time  before  they  are  realized  in  practice. 
Sometimes  the  original  idea  occurs  to  the  man  who  subsequently  works  it 
out ; and  sometimes  it  comes  as  a happy  thought  to  one  who  is  either  in  ad- 
vance of  his  age,  or  who  is  prevented  by  adverse  circumstances  from  follow- 
ing it  up,  and  who  yet  lives  to  see  the  day  when  some  more  fortunate  indi- 
vidual gives  it  a material  shape,  and  so  achieves  the  fame  which  was  denied 
to  him.  Such  is  the  case  of  M.  Charles  Bourselle,  who  in  1854  proposed  a 
form  of  speaking  telephone,  which,  though  not  practicable  in  its  first  crude 
condition,  might  have  led  its  originator  to  a more  successful  instrument  if 
he  had  pursued  the  subject  further. 

The  telephone  is  an  instrument  designed  to  reproduce  sounds  at  a dis- 
tance by  means  of  electricity.  It  was  believed  by  most  people,  and  even  by 
eminent  electricians,  that  the  speaking  telephone  had  never  been  dreamed  of 
by  any  one  before  Professor  Graham  Bell  introduced  his  marvelous  little 
apparatus  to  the  scientific  world.  But  that  was  a mistake.  More  than  one 
person  had  thought  of  such  a thing,  Bourselle  among  the  number.  Philip 
Reis,  a German  electrician,  had  even  constructed  an  electric  telephone  in 
1864,  which  transmitted  words  with  some  degree  of  perfection  ; and  the 
assistant  of  Reis  asserts  that  it  was  designed  to  carry  music  as  well  as 
words.  Professor  Bell,  in  devising  his  telephone,  copied  the  human  ear  with 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


417 


its  vibrating  drum.  The  first  iron  plate  he  used  as  a vibrator  was  a little 
piece  of  clock-spring  glued  to  a parchment  diaphragm,  and  on  saying  to  the 
spring  on  the  telephone  at  one  end  of  the  line,  Do  yon  understand  what  I 
say  ?”  the  answer  from  his  assistant  at  the  other  end  came  back  immedi- 
ately, “ Yes  ; I understand  you  perfectly.”  The  sounds  were  feeble,  and 
he  had  to  hold  his  ear  close  to  the  little  piece  of  iron  on  the  parchment,  but 
they  were  distinct ; and  though  Reis  had  transmitted  certain  single  words 
some  ten  years  before.  Bell  was  the  first  to  make  a piece  of  matter  utter 
sentences.  Reis  gave  the  electric  wire  a tongue,  so  that  it  could  mumble 
like  an  infant ; but  Bell  taught  it  to  speak. 

The  next  step  is  attributed  to  Mr.  Elisha  Gray,  of  Chicago,  who  sent 
successions  of  electrical  current  of  varying  strength  as  well  as  of  varying 
frequency  into  the  circuit,  and  thus  enabled  the  relative  loudness  as  well  as 
the  pitch  of  sounds  to  be  transmitted ; and  who  afterward  took  the  import- 
ant step  of  using  the  variations  of  a steady  current.  These  variations, 
positive  and  negative,  are  capable  of  representing  all  back-and-fore  varia- 
tions of  position  of  a particle  of  air,  however  irregular  these  may  be,  and  he 
secured  them  by  making  the  sound-waves  set  a diaphragm  in  vibration. 
This  diaphragm  carried  a metallic  point  which  dipped  in  dilute  sulphuric 
acid  ; the  deeper  it  dipped  the  less  was  the  resistance  to  a current  passing 
through  the  acid,  and  vice  versa,  so  that  every  variation  in  the  position  of 
the  diaphragm  produced  a corresponding  variation  in  the  intensity  of  the 
current,  and  the  varying  current  acted  upon  a distant  electro-magnet,  which 
accordingly  fluctuated  in  strength,  and  in  its  attraction  for  a piece  of  soft  iron 
suspended  on  a flexible  diaphragm  ; this  piece  of  soft  iron  accordingly  oscil- 
lated, pulling  the  flexible  diaphragm  with  it ; and  the  variations  of  pressure 
in  the  air  acted  upon  by  the  diaphragm  produced  waves,  reproducing  the 
characteristics  of  the  original  sound-waves,  and  perceived  by  the  ear  as  re- 
producing the  original  sound  or  voice.  Mr.  Gray  lodged  a caveat  for  this 
contrivance  in  the  United  States  Patent  Office  on  February  14,  1876;  but  on 
the  same  day  Professor  Alexander  Graham  Bell  filed  a specification  and 
drawings  of  the  original  Bell  telephone. 

Bell’s  telephone  was  first  exhibited  in  America  at  the  Centennial  Exhi- 
bition in  Philadelphia  in  1876  ; and  in  England,  at  the  Glasgow  meeting  of 
the  British  Association  in  September  of  that  3^ear.  On  that  occasion  Sir 
William  Thomson  (Lord  Kelvin)  pronounced  it,  with  enthusiasm,  to  be  the 
greatest  of  all  the  marvels  of  the  electric  telegraph.”  Since  then,  its  in- 
troduction as  a valuable  aid  to  social  life  has  been  very  rapid,  and  the  tele- 
phone is  now  to  be  found  in  use  from  China  to  Peru. 


418 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


The  Phonograph  is  an  instrument  for  mechanically  recording  and  re- 
producing articulate  human  speech,  song,  etc.  It  was  invented  by  Mr.  T, 
A.  Edison,  in  the  spring  of  1877,  at  his  Menlo  Park  Laboratory,  New  Jersey, 
and  came  into  existence  as  the  result  of  one  of  the  many  lines  of  experiment 
he  was  then  engaged  upon.  Thomas  Alva  Edison  was  born  at  Milan,  Ohio, 
February  ii,  1847,  but  his  early  years  were  spent  at  Port  Huron,  Mich, 
His  father  was  of  Dutch,  and  his  mother  of  Scotch  descent  ; the  latter, 
having  been  a teacher,  gave  him  what  schooling  he  received.  Edison 
was  a great  reader  in  his  youth,  and  at  the  age  of  twelve  he  became  a 
newsboy  on  the  Grand  Trunk  Line  running  into  Detroit,  and  began 
to  experiment  in  chemistry.  Gaining  the  exclusive  right  of  selling  news- 
papers on  this  line,  and  purchasing  some  old  type,  with  the  aid  of  four 
assistants  he  printed  and  issued  the  Grand  Trunk  Herald^  the  first  news- 
paper printed  in  a railway  train.  A station-master,  in  gratitude  for  his 
having  saved  his  child  from  the  front  of  an  advancing  train,  taught  him 
telegraphy,  in  which  he  had  previously  been  greatly  interested ; and 
thenceforward  he  concentrated  the  energies  of  a very  versatile  mind  chiefly 
upon  electrical  studies. 

Edison  invented  an  automatic  repeater,  by  means  of  which  messages 
could  be  sent  from  one  wire  to  another  without  the  intervention  of  the 
operator.  His  system  of  duplex  telegraphy  was  perfected  while  a tele- 
graph operator  in  Boston,  but  was  not  entirely  successful  until  1872.  In 
1871  he  became  superintendent  of  the  New  York  Gold  and  Stock  Com- 
pany, and  here  invented  the  printing  telegraph  for  gold  and  stock 
quotations,  for  the  manufacture  of  which  he  established  a workshop  at 
Newark,  N.  J.,  continuing  there  till  his  removal  to  Menlo  Park,  N.  J.,  in 
1876.  Ten  years  later  he  settled  at  Orange,  at  the  foot  of  the  Orange 
Mountains,  his  large  premises  at  Menlo  Park  having  grown  too  small 
for  him. 

His  inventive  faculties  now  getting  full  play,  he  took  out  over  fifty 
patents  in  connection  with  improvements  in  telegraphy,  including  the 
duplex,  quadruplex,  and  sextuplex  systems  ; the  carbon  telephone  trans- 
mitter ; microtasimeter ; aerophone,  for  amplifying  sound ; the  megaphone, 
for  magnifying  sound.  Thence  also  emanated  his  phonograph,  a form  of 
telephone,  and  various  practical  adaptations  of  the  electric  light.  His 
kinetoscope  (1894)  is  a development  of  the  zoetrope,  in  which  the  con- 
tinuous picture  is  obtained  from  a swift  succession  of  instantaneous  photo- 
graphs (taken  forty-six  or  more  in  a second),  and  printed  on  a strip  of  cellu- 
loid. Of  late  he  has  devoted  himself  to  improving  metallurgic  methods. 


SCENE  1838 


THE^f^Dvvbop  CofiiCfi 


fe^'l'cYCt^ 


TH  E A 1 lE7 


f?AiLNOAD  .5C£N£>  1900 


KVOLI  TION  OF  LAND  TRANSPORTATION. 

A hundred  years  ago  it  reiiuired  a week  to  go  from  Hoston  to  New  York,  and  when  the  stages  made  the  journey  from 
New  York  to  Philadelphia  in  two  days,  they  were  called  “ tiying  machines.”  To-day,  the  same  trip  is  accomplished  in 
two  hours.  With  the  automobile  traveling  thirty  or  more  miles  an  hour  on  the  highway  and  our  express  trains  speeding 
at  a rate  greater  than  a mile  a minute,  one  may  well  wonder  what  further  imiirovements  will  be  made. 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OE  THE  CENTURY 


419 


He  has  taken  out  some  five  hundred  patents,  and  founded  many  companies 
at  home  and  in  Europe. 

Railroads. — Here  is  a fact  to  astound  one — even  the  reader  who  may 
be  old  enough  to  vouch  for  its  authenticity  : In  1845  little  more  than  a 
half-centur}^  ago),  when  only  two  or  three  thousand  miles  of  railroad  line 
had  been  opened  in  our  mother  country,  a slender  pamphlet  of  thirty-four 
pages,  bearing,  even  at  that  time,  the  now  familiar  name  of  “ Bradshaw,” 
was  more  than  sufficient  to  contain  the  time-tables  of  all  the  trains  of  Great 
Britain.  In  1842,  Queen  Victoria  refused  to  travel  by  railway,  and  it  is 
recorded  of  Prince  Albert  that,  in  going  to  Windsor,  he  was  wont  to  say, 
“Not  quite  so  fast,  next  time,  Mr.  Conductor,  if  you  please.”  In  our  own 
country  many  are  still  living  who  have  watched  the  development  of  the 
greatest  railway  system  in  the  world,  who  have  seen  the  steady  and  amaz- 
ing advance  from  Peter  Cooper’s  locomotive,  weighing  less  than  a ton, 
which,  with  difficulty,  outstripped  in  speed  a gray  horse,  to  locomotives 
weighing  more  than  seventy-five  tons,  which  easily  run  sixt}^,  and  can  ex- 
ceed seventy,  miles  an  hour.  Moreover,  in  the  life  of  the  present  genera- 
tion the  railroads  in  the  United  States  have  been  quadrupled  in  mileage ; 
they  have  attained  to  the  enormous  proportions  of  two  hundred  thousand 
miles  ; they  have  cost  close  upon  ten  billion  dollars  ; they  employ  more  than 
a million  men,  and  they  run  more  than  a million  cars,  which  is  to  say  that, 
stretched  out  in  a straight  line,  with  locomotives  and  tenders,  the}^  would 
form  a train  more  than  seven  thousand  miles  long. 

We  have  before  us  an  advertisement  of  the  “ Pioneer  Fast  Line,”  dated 
April,  1837,  which  holds  out  to  tourists  the  alluring  prospect  of  rapid 
transit  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg  (“  in  large  and  splendid  eight-wheel 
cars  ” and  canal  packets)  in  “ three  and  one-half  days.”  In  another  ad- 
vertisement, so  late  as  1849,  the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington,  and  Baltimore 
line  plumes  itself  on  running  twice  a day  to  Baltimore,  “ through  in  six 
hours.”  This  was  twenty  years  after  Peter  Cooper  had  built  the  first  loco- 
motive in  this  country,  the  boiler  of  his  wonderful  engine  being  the  size  of 
a flour  barrel,  and  its  flues  made  of  gun-barrels.  In  a half-centur}"  there 
have  been  very  many  modifications  in  the  design  of  locomotives.  The 
modern  standard  express  trains  and  the  heavy  freight  trains,  the  light  trains 
on  elevated  roads  and  the  trains  for  suburban  traffic,  require  different  kinds 
of  locomotives.  In  size  and  weight  these  locomotives  have  steadily  grown, 
until  now  the  “ decapod  ” class  weigh,  in  working  order,  one  hundred  and 
forty-eight  thousand  pounds. 


420 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEJ^EMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


Evolution. — The  revolution  of  opinion  upon  the  subject  of  evolution 
is  certainly  the  great  feature  of  the  history  of  the  last  quarter-century.  The 
fingers  of  one  hand  will  now  more  than  suffice  to  count  all  anti-evolutionists 
who  are  competent  to  have  an  opinion  on  the  subject.  The  principle  of 
natural  selection  is  universally  acknowledged  to  be  a most  important  dis- 
covery ; though  naturalists  of  the  neo-Laniarckiaii  school  think  its  import- 
ance has  been  somewhat  overrated,  while  the  ultra-Darwinian  school  claim 
more  for  natural  selection  than  Darwin  claimed  himself.  Not  a few  of  us, 
indeed,  believe  that  the  departure  in  both  directions  from  Darwin’s  positions 
have  been  for  the  worse;  that,  in  maintaining  the  adequacy  of  natural 
selection  to  evolve  new  species  by  means  of  fortuitous  variation,  while  con- 
ceding, nevertheless,  the  possibility  of  a more  direct  influence  of  environ- 
ment through  inheritance  of  the  effects  of  use  and  disuse  and  of  other 
acquired  variations,  the  views  of  Darwin  himself  still  remain  the  most 
accordant  with  all  known  facts.  But,  whatever  differences  of  opinion  there 
may  be  in  regard  to  the  relative  efficiency  of  natural  selection  and  other 
evolutionary  forces,  all  naturalists  of  the  present  day  would  unite  in  recog- 
nizing Darwin  as  the  one  great  epoch-making  name  in  the  history  of  science 
since  Sir  Isaac  Newton.  Together  lie  the  mortal  remains  of  these  two  great 
men  in  Westminster  Abbey;  and  together  their  names  will  stand  in  the 
history  of  science — Newton,  whose  conception  of  universal  gravitation  gave 
unity  to  inorganic  nature ; Darwin,  whose  conception  of  natural  selection 
gave  unity  to  organic  nature.  It  is  no  extravagant  praise  of  Darwin’s  work 
to  predict  that  future  historians  of  the  intellectual  progress  of  our  race  will 
recognize  the  publication  of  the  “ Origin  of  Species  ” as  the  great  event  in 
the  intellectual  history  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  importance  of  the  intellectual  movement  which  began  with  the 
publication  of  the  “ Origin  of  Species  ” depends  not  alone  nor  chiefly  upon 
the  fact  that  a single  great  truth  in  biological  science  has  been  established, 
but  upon  the  fact  that  the  effect  of  that  truth  has  been  to  revolutionize  sci- 
entific thought  in  general.  The  whole  character  of  biological  science  has 
been  changed.  From  the  condition  of  a merely  classificatory  science,  it  has 
passed  into  that  of  a dynamical  science.  In  1857,  O^rwin,  writing  to  Wal- 
lace, lamented  that  “ very  few  naturalists  care  for  anything  beyond  the  mere 
description  of  species.”  So  completely  has  the  spirit  of  biological  investi- 
gation been  changed  that  at  present,  fascinated  by  the  countless  questions 
which  the  evolutionary  view  of  nature  is  presenting  to  our  attention  on 
every  hand,  naturalists  are  in  danger  even  of  despising  and  neglecting  the 
humble  but  necessary  labors  of  systematic  botany  and  zoology. 


SCIENTIFIC  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  CENTURY 


421 


Nor  is  it  alone  in  the  realm  of  biological  science  that  the  influence  of 
Darwin’s  great  discovery  has  been  felt.  There  is  no  department  of  thought, 
however  remote  from  the  technical  study  of  biology,  which  has  not  felt  the 
profound  influence  of  the  new  idea.  The  thought  which  inspires  and  char- 
acterizes the  whole  intellectual  life  of  the  closing  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century  finds  its  expression  in  the  word  evolution. 

The  automobile,  or  horseless  carriage,  is  one  of  the  more  recent  of 
the  many  remarkable  inventions  called  into  life  by  the  imperative  demand 
for  rapid  transit. 

Naturally  it  has  been  desired  to  produce  a motor  to  attach  to  the  axles 
of  an  ordinar}^  vehicle  which  would  have  sufficient  power  to  propel  it  at  a 
fair  rate  of  speed  over  any  sort  of  road.  This  has  been  obtained  with  vary- 
ing degrees  of  success,  so  that  now  there  is  an  unlimited  number  of  horse- 
less vehicles,  from  the  big  cumbersome  truck  to  the  luxurious  landau,  fitted 
with  motors,  the  propelling  forces  of  which  are  steam,  burning  coal,  coke, 
kerosene,  naphtha,  and  electricity.  The  latter  affords  the  ideal  power,  and 
is  free  from  any  of  the  objections  attached  to  the  other  motive  forces. 

Trolley. — With  the  exception  of  the  steam  locomotive,  of  course, 
there  has  not  been  any  single  invention  during  recent  years  which  has  so 
largely  increased  the  wealth  of  the  country  as  the  application  of  electricity 
as  a motive  power  to  street  and  suburban  railway  traffic. 

Not  onl}^  has  it  been  the  means  of  connecting  outlying  hamlets,  but  it 
has  permitted  the  growth  of  large  cities  toward  the  pure  air  of  the  country  ; 
relieved  the  congestion  of  the  central  portions,  and  given  life  and  strength 
to  thousands  who  otherwise  would  have  died  in  the  fetid  atmosphere  of 
densely  populated  tenement  houses. 

Power  to  propel  the  swift-moving  “ trolley  ” is  conve3^ed  to  the  car  from 
a conveniently  situated  power-house,  where  the  electricity  is  generated  in 
great  quantities.  From  this  point  it  is  carried  to  the  car  b}^  means  of  wires 
strung  overhead,  or  underground  in  conduits,  according  to  the  S3^steni  in  use. 

Man3^  experiments  have  been  made  with  storage  batteries  and  under- 
ground wires,  with  more  or  less  success,  but  the  most  satisfactor3^  S3^stem 
from  ever3^  point  of  view,  including  that  ot  minimum  cost,  is  that  of  the 
overhead  wire. 


CHAPTER  XLI 


HOME  DEVELOPMENT  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPANSION 
[By  CHARLES  EMORY  SMITH,  Postmaster-General  U.  S.] 

The  great,  overmastering  fact  in  the  material  development  of  the  world 
during  the  past  quarter  of  a century  is  the  marvelous  industrial  ex- 
pansion of  the  United  States.  Our  country  had  long  been  foremost 
among  nations  in  agricultural  products.  Whether  cotton  or  wheat  or  corn 
was  king,  in  any  case  we  held  the  sceptre.  Our  great  domain,  our  fertile 
soil,  and  our  varied  climate  gave  us  the  unrivaled  mastery. 

But  in  everything  outside  of  the  earth’s  rich  bounty  the  young  Re- 
public had  yet  its  commanding  place  to  make.  Thirty  years  ago  we  were 
only  at  the  threshold  of  our  wonderful  material  growth.  We  had  just 
emerged  from  the  struggle  and  sacrifices  and  burdens  of  a long  civil  war, 
and  had  just  entered  upon  the  promise  and  the  fruits  of  a regenerated  Union 
and  a peaceful  development.  We  had  achieved  our  political  independence, 
but  our  economic  independence  was  yet  to  be  secured.  Our  manufactures 
were  to  be  built  up,  our  mines  to  be  opened,  our  railroads  to  be  constructed. 
We  applied  a true  American  policy,  directed  to  the  defense  and  advancement 
of  American  interests,  and  under  its  banner  we. proceeded  to  the  great  work 
of  internal  upbuilding. 

The  result  is  the  mightiest  industrial  expansion  the  world  has  ever 
seen.  This  is  the  miracle-working  age  of  steam  and  electricity.  Under 
the  potent  application  of  these  magic  forces  the  whole  civilized  world  has 
been  bounding  forward  with  astonishing  strides.  The  great  nations  of  the 
Old  World  had  a long  start  in  the  race.  They  possessed  accumulated 
capital  and  established  industries  and  fixed  markets.  And  3^et,  notwith- 
standing these  advantages,  they  have  been  far  outstripped  by  the  puissant 
young  Republic  of  the  New  World. 

422 


CHARLES  EMORY  SMITH, 

Postmaster-General  of  the  United  States, 

Contributes  the  chapter  in  this  volume  on  “ Our  Home  Development.” 


Copyright  1899,  by  Kurz  & Allison,  Chicago,  711. 


HOME  DEVELOPMENT  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPANSION 


m 


Among  the  industrial  powers  of  the  earth  we  now  stand  pre-eminent 
and  unrivaled.  We  have  gained  a manufacturing  supremacy  which  is  alto- 
gether unapproached.  We  first  aimed  at  the  full  control  of  our  home 
market,  which  is  the  best  of  all  markets,  and  when  we  had  made  ourselves 
its  uncontested  masters,  when  we  produced  enough  and  more  than  enough 
to  supply  its  requirements,  we  were  compelled  to  take  the  outward  look. 
The  moment  our  manufactured  exports  exceeded  our  manufactured  imports 
that  moment  we  passed  beyond  the  possession  of  our  domestic  field  to  the 
demand  for  foreign  markets.  It  showed  that  at  length  we  had  a surplus 
which  must  find  its  outlet.  The  pregnant  hour  when  our  exports  of  manu- 
factures passed  our  imports  came  in  1898,  and  in  the  striking  inarch  of 
events  that  are  not  ruled  by  any  mere  chance,  that  very  year  witnessed  the 
war  with  Spain  which,  as  its  unexpected  and  unavoidable  result,  brought 
us  the  great  opportunity  of  commercial  outlet  for  which  the  princes  of  busi- 
ness had  already  begun  to  look,  but  which  the  keenest  vision  had  never 
foreseen. 

The  first  and  paramount  obligation  connected  with  the  war  is  the  moral 
duty  growing  out  of  it.  Above  all  other  considerations  are  the  moral  re- 
sponsibilities of  our  new  position.  We  owe  a duty  to  our  American  char- 
acter and  honor.  We  owe  a duty  to  the  new  peoples  who  have  come  under 
our  flag.  We  must,  above  all  things,  be  true  to  the  principles  of  liberty 
and  justice  and  right.  These  obligations  have  been  and  will  be  thoroughly 
considered,  but  it  does  not  fall  within  my  present  purpose  to  discuss 
them.  Recognizing  the  moral  dut}^  as  supreme,  I do  not  hesitate  to  say 
that  President  McKinle}^  has  made  it  his  guiding  rule  in  dealing  with 
all  the  transcendent  questions  which  have  grown  out  of  our  new  pos- 
sessions. 

But  when  we  have  met  the  highest  requirement  of  the  moral  standard 
there  is  no  code  of  ethics  and  no  rule  of  statesmanship  which  excludes  con- 
sideration of  the  commercial  interests  involved  in  our  public  polic3\  It  is 
the  obligation  of  the  Government  first  of  all  to  be  right ; it  is  also  its  obli- 
gation to  promote  the  advantage  and  welfare  of  its  own  people ; and  when 
the  two  fully  coincide  and  harmonize,  when  the  moral  mandate  and  the 
material  interests  completel}^  blend,  the  polic}^  is  doubly  wise  and  the  duty 
doubly  commanding.  Such  is  our  present  position.  We  should  be  recreant 
to  our  American  manhood  if  we  did  not  bravel}^  fulfill  the  mission  of  hu- 
manity and  civilization  which  the  war  has  bequeathed  to  us.  We  should 
be  strangely  blind  to  our  American  interests  if  we  did  not  recognize  the  re- 
quirements of  our  phenomenal  industrial  expansion  and  see  the  marvelous 


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opportunit}"  of  commercial  expansion  thus  made  necessar}^  which  is  opened 
before  us. 

Let  me  ask  3^onr  attention  to  our  remarkable  position  of  economic 
superiority  and  to  the  imperative  demands  which  grow  out  of  it.  Familiar 
as  we  are  with  the  legend  of  our  national  growth,  we  do  not  realize  its  stu- 
pendous proportions  until  we  anal^^ze  and  measure  it  by  comparison.  In 
1870  the  annual  value  of  our  manufactures  was  $3,700,000,000  ; now  it  is 
about  $12,000,000,000.  For  half  a century  England  had  been  the 
workshop  of  the  world,  and  we  had  only  just  begun.  Still  we  had 
got  such  a start  that  in  1870  the  manufactures  of  the  United  States 
just  about  equaled  those  of  Great  Britain.  But  since  then  onr  growth 
has  been  so  prodigious  that  now  our  manufactures  amount  to  two  and 
a half  times  the  total  volume  of  British  manufactures,  and  equal  those 
of  Great  Britain,  Germany,  and  France  put  together.  The  increase  in  the 
annual  x\merican  product  within  thirt}^  years  has  been  double  the  combined 
increase  of  those  three  great  nations  of  Europe.  In  other  words,  if  you 
match  the  United  States  against  Great  Britain,  Germany,  and  France  to- 
gether, our  manufactures  are  equal  to  all  theirs  and  are  growing  twice  as 
fast.  We  are  manufacturing  nearly  two-thirds  as  much  as  all  Europe  with 
its  380,000,000  people,  and  more  than  one-third  of  all  that  is  manufactured 
in  the  world. 

If  you  take  the  whole  range  of  industries,  including  agriculture,  min- 
ing, transportation,  and  even  commerce,  wherein  alone  we  are  behind,  the 
proportions  stand  about  the  same.  The  aggregate  value  of  all  American 
industries  is  more  than  double  that  of  Great  Britain,  three  times  that  of 
France,  and  two  and  a half  times  that  of  German3\  It  is  one-half  that  of 
all  Europe  combined.  With  this  enormous  industrial  expansion  the  national 
Avealth  of  the  United  States  grows  proportionately.  In  i860  our  aggregate 
wealth  was  but  little  more  than  half  that  of  Great  Britain,  less  than  half 
that  of  France,  and  onh^  about  half  that  of  the  nations  that  made  up  the 
German  Empire.  Now  it  is  a third  greater  than  Great  Britain’s,  double 
Germany’s,  and  nearly  double  that  of  France.  Within  forty  years  the 
United  States  has  gained  over  $67,000,000,000  in  Avealth,  Avhile  Great 
Britain,  France,  and  German}^  together  have  gained  less  than  $60,000,- 
000,000. 

The  figures  of  our  national  earnings  dazzle  the  imagination.  Last  year 
we  earned  about  $14,500,000,000,  of  Avhich  more  than  one-half  Avas  the  wages 
of  labor.  The  earnings  of  labor  in  the  United  States  to-day  are  greater  than 
the  combined  earnings  of  capital  and  labor  together  in  Great  Britain.  Labor 


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425 


was  never  as  well  rewarded  as  in  this  prosperous  year.  As  compared  with  the 
years  1893,  1894,  and  1895,  ^he  average  earnings  of  labor  now  are  in  the  ratio 
of  127  to  81 . That  is, they  are  nearly  sixty  per  cent,  greater  than  they  were  five 
years  ago.  The  whole  country  is  striding  forward  by  leaps  and  bounds.  The 
$20,000,000  granted  to  Spain  in  connection  with  the  Philippines  was  paid  b}^ 
what  the  country  earns  in  half  a day.  The  nation’s  earnings  in  a single 
year  like  the  present  are  equivalent  to  more  than  one-half  its  entire  accu- 
mulated wealth  in  1870;  that  is,  to  more  than  one-half  of  all  that  it  had 
saved  and  put  into  all  forms  of  property  during  the  first  eighty  3^ears  of  its 
existence  as  a nation. 

If  we  did  not  spend  more  freely  than  other  peoples,  if  we  did  not  main- 
tain a higher  general  standard  of  comfort,  education,  and  good  living,  our 
savings  would  be  stupendous.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  under  such  limita- 
tions we  should  not  have  such  power  of  earning.  As  it  is,  our  annual  gain 
is  $2,000,000,000,  and  every  succeeding  working  day  sees  the  United  States 
over  $6,000,000  better  off  than  it  was  the  day  before.  We  have  multiplied 
our  capital  more  than  threefold  since  1870,  and  to  its  present  vast  propor- 
tions we  shall  in  the  next  ten  years  add  as  much  as  the  entire  capital  of  the 
nation  was  in  1870.  With  this  rapid  and  tremendous  expansion  of  capital 
and  of  the  product  of  labor,  is  there  to  be  no  expansion  of  its  opportunity 
and  its  outlets  ? 

When  we  pass  from  these  broad  outlines  to  the  particular  factors,  the 
astonishing  growth  and  the  superior  position  of  the  United  States  are  em- 
phasized. Iron  and  steel  are  everywhere  recognized  as  the  basic  fabrics  and 
the  surest  index  of  industrial  power.  Fifteen  years  ago  the  United  States 
made  only  half  as  much  pig  iron  as  Great  Britain,  and  only  a little  more 
than  Germany.  Within  that  short  period  our  gain  has  been  equal  to  the 
combined  gain  of  the  two  great  iron  nations  of  Europe  ; we  now  make  fifty 
per  cent,  more  than  either,  and  we  have  leaped  so  far  to  the  front  that  we 
make  more  than  one-third  of  all  the  iron  that  is  made  in  the  world.  The 
same  thing  is  true  of  steel.  Last  year  we  produced  twice  as  much  steel  as 
Great  Britain,  though  fifteen  years  ago  our  product  was  less  than  hers ; and 
while  Germany  has  outstripped  Great  Britain,  we  are  sixty  per  cent,  ahead 
of  Germany.  We  make  half  as  much  steel  as  all  other  nations  put  to- 
gether. 

Not  only  do  we  hold  the  present  master}^  but  we  command  the  future, 
because  we  possess  the  elements  of  continued  industrial  supremac3^  Our 
unused  resources  are  even  more  remarkable  and  significant  than  our  present 
achievements.  Coal  and  iron  ore  are  the  raw  material  and  the  foundation 


426 


HOME  DEVELOPMENT  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPANSION 


of  iron  and  steel  production.  The  coal  fields  of  Great  Britain  embrace 
9,300  square  miles  and  those  of  Germany  3,000  square  miles.  But  how 
mighty  seem  the  potentialities  of  the  United  States  when  we  remember  that 
our  total  coal  area  covers  200,000  square  miles,  and  that  even  when  we 
limit  it  to  the  cpiantity  of  coal  which  enters  into  the  manufacture  of  iron, 
it  still  reaches  the  stupendous  figures  of  more  than  70,000  square  miles,  or 
20,000  square  miles  more  than  the  entire  area  of  England ! Our  coal  pro- 
duction has  rapidly  advanced  until  we  now  mine  as  much  as  Great  Britain 
and  nearl}^  one-third  of  all  that  is  mined  in  the  world.  Great  Britain  ex- 
ports 40,000,000  tons,  or  one-fifth  of  her  entire  product,  while  we  consume 
practically  all  of  ours  and  export  only  4,000,000  tons.  As  our  illimitable 
fields  are  opened  and  foreign  fields  are  reduced,  our  capability  of  supp^fing 
the  world  will  become  more  and  more  marked.  Even  now  we  are  reading  in 
the  public  press  of  the  coal  famine  in  Europe  and  of  the  great  demand  for 
American  coal. 

The  facts  as  to  iron  ore  are  much  the  same.  Great  Britain  used  about 

18.000. 000  tons  in  1898,  but  she  had  to  import  one-third  of  it,  or  6,000,000 
tons.  On  the  other  hand,  the  United  States  produced  19,000,000  tons,  and 
used. all  of  it  within  her  own  borders.  In  the  lake  regions  we  have  a wealth 
of  ore  beds  which  are  practically  inexhaustible,  and  which,  with  our  bound- 
less coal  fields,  assure  our  increasing  and  enduring  supremacy  as  an  indus- 
trial power.  We  have  not  yet  gained  the  same  lead  in  textiles.  But,  though 
we  began  fifty  years  ago  with  a valued  product  only  one-seventh  of  Great 
Britain’s,  only  one-fifth  of  France’s,  and  only  one-half  of  Germany’s,  we 
have  now  caught  up  to  Great  Britain  and  nearly  equal  France  and  Germany 
combined.  Our  predominance  will  become  as  signal  in  this  field  as  in 
metals.  English  authorities  point  out  the  fact  that  there  is  a serious  depre- 
ciation in  cotton  mills  at  Manchester,  that  no  new  capital  enters  the  trade, 
and  that  eniplo3nnent  is  decreasing.  But  in  South  Carolina  alone  twent}^- 
six  new  cotton  mills  have  been  established  within  the  past  year,  many  more 
being  doubled  in  capacity,  while  in  the  whole  South  5,000,000  spindles  have 
been  set  up,  standing  for  an  investment  of  $125,000,000.  Much  of  this  new 
development  springs  from  the  new  opportunity  in  the  East,  for  which  alone 

1.000. 000  spindles  have  been  added. 

Nor  does  American  superiority  end  here.  When  England  was  rising 
to  her  industrial  leadership  she  had  the  advantage  of  new  mechanical  forces. 
The  continent  was  paralyzed  and  prostrated  for  a quarter  of  a century 
under  the  blight  of  the  Napoleonic  wars.  While  thus  free  from  all  com- 
petitive rivalry,  England,  through  the  skill  of  her  Watts  and  Arkwrights 


tlOME  DEVELOPMENT  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPANSION  427 


and  Stephensons,  applied  new  mechanical  power  to  the  productive  processes 
and  became  the  unchallenged  workshop  of  the  world.  It  was  estimated  at 
that  time  that  one  pair  of  hands  in  England,  with  these  efficient  agencies, 
had  the  productive  energy  and  value  of  ten  pairs  of  hands  on  the  conti- 
nent. The  United  States  has  a similar,  though  less  signal,  advantage  now. 
American  genius  and  invention  and  adaptability  have  given  our  industries 
a completeness  and  perfection  of  mechanical  equipment  which  greatly  mul- 
tiply their  productive  power.  A single  broad  fact  demonstrates  the  supe- 
riority. In  Europe  45,000,000  operatives  and  artisans  were  employed  in 
1895  in  producing  the  annual  aggregate  of  manufactured  articles  valued  at 
$17,000,000,000,  or  $380  apiece.  In  the  United  States  at  the  same  time 
6,000,000  operatives  produced  goods  worth  $10,000,000,000,  or  about  $1,666 
apiece,  or  more  than  four  times  as  much  as  an  operative  in  Europe. 

This  superior  equipment  and  producing  power,  man  for  man,  explains 
why  we  can  pay  higher  wages  and  still  compete  with  the  nations  of  the  Old 
World  on  their  own  ground  and  in  their  own  markets.  It  is  the  secret  of 
the  comfort  of  American  labor,  the  key  of  American  enterprise,  and  the 
talisman  of  American  expansion.  It  explains  why,  within  a few  months, 
American  shops  have  placed  a goodly  number  of  locomotives  on  English 
railways.  It  explains  why  we  are  sending  American  machinery  to  Shef- 
field and  Birmingham,  and  why  our  rails  are  found  in  Manchuria  and 
Siberia,  in  India  and  Africa.  The  antiquity  which  enshrines  the  Pyramids 
looks  down  through  forty  centuries  on  the  American  electric  road  that  car- 
ries the  troops  of  visitors  to  their  base,  and  the  mystery  of  the  silent  Sphinx 
must  now  well-nigh  yield  its  secret  in  wonder  at  the  new  riddle  of  the 
youngest  civilization  and  people  peacefully  invading  and  conquering  the 
oldest.  The  British  Government  needed  a great  steel  bridge,  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a mile  long,  across  the  Abbarra  for  Kitchener,  and  needed  it  at 
once ; the  British  manufacturers  required  seven  months  to  build  it ; Amer- 
ican constructors  asked  seven  weeks,  and  Philadelphia  sent  the  bridge.  This 
superior  alertness,  adaptability,  and  equipment  distinguish  general  Amer- 
ican enterprise.  It  has  a plant  which  beats  the  world,  and  it  must  find  the 
market  for  its  product. 

And  even  all  these  striking  facts  do  not  tell  the  whole  story  of  American 
advantage.  England  is  dependent  on  the  outside  world  for  her  food  supply 
and  her  raw  material.  In  less  degree  the  same  thing  is  true  of  France  and 
Germany.  The  United  States,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  one  country  that 
supplies  its  own  food  and  raw  material,  the  one  great  nation  that  sells  more 
than  it  buys,  the  one  world  power  that  is  completely  independent  and 


428  HOME  DEVELOPMENT  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPANSION 


wholly  self-sustaining.  We  are  great  both  in  land  and  in  industry.  Our 
agriculture  and  manufactures  work  together  for  the  common  welfare.  A 
century  ago  IMalthus  pointed  out  the  irresistible  strength  of  such  a combi- 
nation. He  said : “ According  to  general  principles  it  will  finally  answer 
to  most  landed  nations  both  to  manufacture  for  themselves  and  to  conduct 
their  own  commerce.  That  raw  cotton  should  be  shipped  in  America,  car- 
ried some  thousands  of  miles  to  another  country,  there  to  be  manufactured 
and  shipped  again  for  the  American  market,  is  a state  of  things  that  cannot 
be  permanent.  A purely  commercial  state  must  always  be  undersold  and 
driven  out  of  the  market  by  those  who  possess  the  advantage  of  land.’^ 
That  prediction,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  American  manufacturing  growth  has 
been  splendidly  verified.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the  prophecy  shall 
not  also  be  realized  that  this  great  landed  and  manufacturing  nation  shall 
“ conduct  its  own  commerce.”  That  is  a vital  question  for  American  states- 
manship and  the  American  people ; the  time  and  the  opportunity  have  come, 
and  if  we  are  true  to  ourselves  we  shall  gain  the  triple  crown  of  agricultural, 
industrial,  and  commercial  supremacy. 

But  if  we  are  to  gain  that  prize,  if  we  are  even  to  hold  our  present 
ascendancy,  we  must  fully  understand  the  conditions  which  confront  us. 
We  have  seen  that  the  growth  of  the  United  States  in  manufactures  has 
been  phenomenal ; that  its  industrial  product  is  now  equal  to  that  of  the 
three  great  industrial  nations  of  Europe  combined ; that  it  is  one-half  the 
product  of  all  the  rest  of  the  world  put  together,  and  is  growing  twice  as 
fast ; that  we  are  immeasurably  ahead  of  all  rivals  in  raw  materials  and 
resources  for  future  development ; and  that,  with  our  superior  appliances, 
we  far  excel  them  in  producing  power,  man  for  man.  Since  1870,  while 
our  population  has  doubled,  our  manufactures  have  quadrupled.  Our  pro- 
ducing capaciW  is  up  to  and  beyond  the  measure  of  our  consuming  ability 
and  is  increasing  faster.  Though  we  are  foremost  in  industrial  growth, 
yet  all  the  great  nations  have  been  advancing  rapidly,  and  it  is  estimated 
that,  under  the  application  of  modern  forces  and  of  improved  machinery, 
the  producing  capacity  of  the  world  is  such  that,  if  operated  to  its  full 
extent  ten  hours  a day,  enough  would  be  produced  in  six  months  to  supply 
the  world’s  demand  for  a year.  Just  now,  with  the  great  revival  of  busi- 
ness following  the  depression  and  the  depletion  which  went  on  from  1893 
to  1897,  the  production  may  not  outrun  the  demand.  But  it  is  the  part  of 
prudence  to  deal  with  broad  and  lasting  conditions,  and  to  prepare  to-day 
for  the  requirements  of  to-morrow. 

What,  then,  are  we  to  do?  Are  we  to  restrict  production?  Are  we  to 


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429 


run  mill  and  factory  on  reduced  time,  with  the  necessary  sequence  of  lower 
wages,  smaller  profits,  and  wide  discontent  ? Or  are  we  to  provide  for  this 
enormous  and  expanding  output  by  supplementing  our  own  vast,  but  un- 
equal measure  of  consumption  with  new  outlets  and  new  markets  ? Under 
this  stress  and  in  this  rivalry  the  other  great  nations  are  struggling  for 
empire  and  making  opportunities  for  trade.  They  are  eagerly  extending 
their  colonial  dependencies  in  order  to  make  new  regions  tributary  to  their 
commerce.  England  has  raised  her  flag  over  16,000,000  square  miles  of 
domain,  with  more  than  300,000,000  people;  France  holds  2,500,000  square 
miles,  with  a population  of  nearl}^  50,000,000,  and  Germany  has  secured 
1,600,000  square  miles,  with  more  than  7,000,000  inhabitants. 

The  United  States  has  no  need  to  engage  in  this  territorial  rivalry  wdth 
the  object  of  commercial  opportunity.  We.  have  made  an  opportunity 
larger  than  all  these  in  securing  the  open  door  in  China.  There  we  find 
the  greatest  potential  new  market  in  the  world.  There  we  find  a population 
of  three  to  four  hundred  millions  who  are  just  breaking  away  from  their 
old  barriers  and  coming  into  the  sphere  of  the  world’s  trade.  The  annual 
imports  of  China  are  less  than  fifty  cents  a head.  When  Japan  entered 
upon  her  new  career  her  imports  did  not  exceed  that  small  ratio,  but 
within  a few  years,  and  under  her  new  impulse,  they  have  increased  to  six 
dollars  a head.  Let  China  advance  in  the  same  proportion  and  her  imports 
will  rise  to  $1,500,000,000  a year — more  than  the  United  States  now  sends 
to  all  the  nations  of  the  world.  Give  us  an  equal  chance  and  a merchant 
marine,  and  we  shall  secure  a large  share  of  that  coming  traffic.  The  open 
door  gives  us  an  equal  chance ; the  merchant  marine  should  become  a great 
feature  of  our  public  policy,  and  every  other  advantage  we  already  have. 
We  are  nearest  China;  we  hold  the  other  coast  of  the  Pacific;  we  have  se- 
cured the  natural  stations  on  the  way  across,  and  that  great  ocean  is  our 
legitimate  highway  of  commerce. 

Our  exports  to  China  and  Japan  have  increased  256  per  cent,  in  the  last 
ten  years.  The  largest  part  of  that  increase  has  come  within  the  last  three 
years.  The  movement  thus  inaugurated  can,  with  care  and  wise  direction, 
be  multiplied  tenfold.  China  wants  our  wheat  and  flour;  she  wants  our 
cotton  goods  ; she  wants  our  oil ; she  wants  our  fabrics  of  iron  and  steel ; 
she  wants  our  rails  and  locomotives  and  equipment  for  the  thousands  of 
miles  of  railroads  she  will  construct  within  the  coming  period.  The  vSouth- 
ern  States  have  a special  interest  in  the  acquisition  of  this  market.  It  offers 
the  most  important  outlet  for  their  growing  cotton  industries.  In  nine 
months  of  last  year  China  imported  from  the  United  States  182,875,000  yards 


430  HOME  DEVELOPMENT  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPANSION 


of  plain  American  cotton  goods,  against  112,480,000  yards  for  the  same 
period  of  1898.  The  imports  from  England  for  the  same  time  showed  an 
actual  decline.  In  1898  the  cotton  imports  into  China  from  the  United 
States  were  37  per  cent,  of  those  from  England.  In  1899  the}^  were  61  per 
cent.  At  that  rate  of  increase  how  long,  if  we  rightl}^  use  our  opportunity, 
will  it  take  the  United  States  to  become  foremost  in  the  Chinese  market  ? 
The  possibilities  of  that  market  are  incalculable.  In  1886,  Japan  pur- 
chased foreign  goods  to  the  value  of  only  $16,000,000.  East  3^ear  her 
purchases  rose  to  $137,000,000.  What  boundless  fields  lie  before  us  in 
China  and  all  the  Orient,  if  we  are  not  so  weak  and  blind  as  to  throw  them 
awa}^  ! 

The  open  door  in  China  is  the  open  sesame  of  this  vast  possible  trade, 
and  the  American  accomplishment  of  the  open  door,  wfith  the  consent  and 
pledge  of  all  the  great  nations,  and  without  the  necessW  ^f  entering  into 
any  territorial  division,  is  the  greatest  of  all  recent  achievements  of  diplomacy. 
It  secures  for  the  United  States  a commercial  opportunit}'  wEich  is  immeas- 
urable. It  provides  one  of  the  great  outlets  which  our  industrial  supremacy 
and  our  enormous  producing  capacity  require.  And  that  achievement  is 
the  great  and  magnificent  fruit  of  our  triumph  at  Manila  and  our  posses- 
sion of  the  Philippines.  It  comes  because  we  have  established  our  footing 
in  the  Orient,  because  w^e  have  planted  ourselves  fora  thousand  miles  along 
the  front  of  China,  and  because  we  have  taken  a new  position  as  a world 
power.  Such  a demand  on  our  part  two  years  ago  would  have  been  impo- 
tent and  fruitless.  Three  3^ears  ago  England  proposed  the  policy  of  the 
open  door  in  China  and  failed,  and  wms  compelled,  in  protection  of  her  in- 
terests, to  declare  that  she  would  join  in  the  scheme  of  division  and  claim 
her  sphere  of  influence.  But  when  the  United  States  unfurled  her  flag  in 
the  Philippines  and  made  the  world  resound  with  the  echoes  of  her  swift 
success  and  her  brilliant  triumphs  on  the  sea,  and  then  put  forward  the 
same  demand  of  an  open  door,  it  met  wdth  a prompt  and  full  acceptance. 
Nay,  more,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  our  possession  of  the  Philippines 
has  stayed  the  threatened  dismemberment  of  China,  and  has  perhaps  alto- 
gether averted  that  danger.  But  whether  China  is  to  be  divided  and  par- 
celed among  the  struggling  and  competing  nations,  or  whether  she  is  to 
remain  intact  with  the  possibilities  of  a great  development,  the  guarantee 
of  the  open  door  which  has  been  given  to  us  secures  our  rights  and  our 
interests  in  the  coming  time.  No  fancy  can  overestimate  the  value  of  that 
achievement  in  its  relations  to  our  future  commercial  advancement.  The 
potency  of  that  commercial  opportunity  is  worth  immeasurabl}"  more  than 


HOME  DEVELOPMENT  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPANSION 


431 


all  the  cost  of  the  Spanish  war  and  all  the  cost  of  the  subsequent  conflict 
in  the  Philippines. 

I might  dwell  upon  the  value  of  the  Philippines  themselves.  I might 
speak  of  the  enlarged  trade  which  is  offered  in  their  own  fertility  and  their 
own  richness  when  once  brought  under  the  peaceful  sway  of  good  govern- 
ment and  of  civilizing  development.  But  valuable  as  they  are,  their  high- 
est significance  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  give  us  a foothold  in  the  Orient 
and  constitute  a commercial  and  naval  base,  at  the  ver}^  vestibule  of  China, 
for  a commercial  opportunity  and  expansion  which  were  far  beyond  our 
wildest  dreams  two  3'ears  ago.  If  we  were  to  falter  in  the  polic}^  we  have 
undertaken,  if  we  were  to  shrink  from  the  responsibilit}^  which,  without 
our  seeking,  has  come  upon  us,  we  should  lose  all  the  prestige  of  that 
splendid  triumph  and  should  sacrifice  all  that  we  have  gained  as  its  precious 
fruit.  We  should  find  that  the  door  which  has  been  opened  to  us  would 
soon  be  closed,  for  a nation  which  does  not  respect  itself,  and  which  does 
not  appreciate  its  own  destiny,  will  not  be  respected  b}^  others.  We  should 
find  ourselves  with  the  almost  unbounded  producing  capacity  which  I have 
imperfectly  described,  a capacity  already  be^^ond.our  consuming  abilit}^  and 
growing  much  faster,  and  at  the  same  time  cut  off  in  large  measure  from 
the  new  outlets  and  new  markets  which  it  requires  and  without  which  it 
must  be  curtailed  and  crippled. 

The  great  farming  interests  of  the  country  have  a vital  concern  in  this 
question.  We  outstrip  the  world  in  industrial  equipment,  but  other  nations 
have  land  as  fertile  and  productive.  As  recently  as  1885,  Argentina  pro- 
duced only  14,000,000  bushels  of  wheat  a year ; now  she  grows  60,000,000. 
Our  wheat  fields  find  export  rivals  in  Argentina,  Russia,  and  India.  Our 
farmers  thus  have  need,  as  well  as  our  manufacturers,  of  the  new  outlet  of 
China.  Every  bushel  of  wheat  and  every  barrel  of  flour  shipped  from  the 
Pacific  coast  across  the  western  ocean  relieves  the  competition  at  Liverpool, 
which  fixes  the  price.  Above  all,  the  farmers  are  supremely  interested  that 
our  industrial  power  shall  be  maintained  at  its  highest  capacity.  The}"  are 
prosperous  when  our  manufacturers  are  prosperous  ; the}"  find  the  best  de- 
mand when  our  mills  and  factories  are  busiest,  and  any  failure  of  our  indus- 
trial production  to  find  full  consumption  would  be  a disastrous  blow  to  their 
welfare.  In  the  same  way  the  interests  of  the  workingmen  are  bound  up 
with  this  great  national  movement  to  secure  new  outlets.  Make  new  mar- 
kets and  keep  your  productive  power  fully  employed,  and  labor  gets  its 
highest  reward ; but  restrict  your  production  because  you  will  not  seek  or 
accept  new  channels  of  consumption,  and  labor  suffers  with  the  rest. 


432  HOME  DEVELOPMENT  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPANSION 


Our  pathway  is  determined  by  our  requirements.  The  country  has 
grown  up  to  this  step,  and  its  growth  cannot  be  stopped.  Commercial  devel- 
opinent  is  the  inevitable  necessity  of  our  agricultural  and  manufacturing 
supremacy.  The  demands  of  our  industrial  position  compel  us  to  enter 
upon  commercial  expansion.  We  are  the  greatest  producers  and  the  greatest 
consumers  in  the  world ; yet,  unparalleled  as  is  our  consuming  ability,  our 
wonderful  and  unrivaled  producing  capacity  has  outstripped  and  outrun 
even  our  amazing  powder  of  absorption.  Do  you  want  the  proof?  In  the 
mighty  business  impulse  of  last  year  we  employed  and  consumed  in  our 
own  use  more  than  ever  before,  yet  at  the  same  time  we  exported  more 
manufactured  products  than  ever  before.  We  imported  $100,000,000  less  of 
manufactured  goods  than  in  1890,  and  exported  nearly  $200,000,000  more. 
If  we  had  not  found  more  outlets,  what  would  have  become  of  our  surplus  ? 
With  our  surpassing  power  of  production,  with  our  farms  and  forges  and 
factories  turning  out  more  than  we  can  consume,  with  our  matchless  in- 
ventive and  mechanical  genius  steadily  increasing  our  productive  energy, 
■with  our  wealth  of  yet  untouched  resources  which  must  in  the  future  put  us 
still  further  in  the  lead  of  all  nations,  we  have  only  one  of  two  courses 
before  us. 

Either  we  must  halt  our  growth,  limit  our  production,  bank  our  fires 
and  stop  our  spindles,  reduce  our  labor  and  restrict  our  capital,  with  all  the 
hardship  that  this  involves,  or  else  we  must  find  broader  markets  and  ex- 
panded consumption.  Do  you  tell  me  there  is  cost  and  possible  difficulty  in 
this  extension  abroad  ? But  is  there  not  greater  cost  and  loss  in  a paralyzing 
restriction  at  home  ? Do  you  tell  me  there  are  risks  and  perplexities  in  this 
policy  of  commercial  expansion?  But  are  there  not  greater  and  graver  per- 
plexities and  dangers,  which  may  only  be  suggested,  in  a policy  of  indus- 
trial contraction  ? 

Let  us  fully  realize  the  mighty  facts  of  our  national  situation.  Had 
there  been  no  war  with  Spain,  had  the  new  and  glorious  May  morn  of 
American  liberty  never  shed  its  lustre  over  the  bay  of  Manila,  had  no  vic- 
tory of  Santiago  brought  a brilliant  triumph  of  peace  charged  wdth  great 
responsibilities,  we  should  still  have  been  compelled  to  look  beyond  our  con- 
tinental bounds.  It  w^as  inevitable  that  we  should  advance  out  of  our  isola- 
tion and  turn  our  faces  outward  to  the  world.  Our  transcendent  industrial 
growth  and  its  imperative  need  of  outlets  demanded  it. 

If  the  immortal  history  of  the  past  two  ^^ears  were  blotted  out,  we 
should  make  that  commercial  effort  with  no  such  advantages  and  no  such 
resplendent  possibilities  as  now  beckon  us  onward.  There  would  be  no 


HOME  DEVELOPMENT  AND  COMMERCIAL  EXPANSION 


433 


prestige  and  impress  of  an  ever- floating  flag  in  the  Orient.  There  would 
be  no  key  to  Asia  in  onr  hands.  There  would  be  no  open  door  in  China. 
Events  have  ruled  us,  and  it  is  for  ns  only  to  rule  their  results. 

Territorial  expansion  has  not  been  and  is  not  now  the  object  of  Ameri- 
can ambition.  What  we  have  done  has  been  the  inescapable,  overmastering 
logic  of  events,  and  not  the  deliberate  aim  of  any  policy.  It  has  been 
enough  to  give  us  such  a position  and  opportunity  in  the  East  as  a hundred 
years  of  ordinary  history  would  not  have  brought,  and  there  is  no  need  of 
more.  But  even  had  there  been  no  such  glittering  chapter,  onr  continued 
material  advancement  would  have  required  us  to  extend  the  arms  of 
our  commerce  across  the  seas,  and  commerce  means  a navy  and  outposts 
and  defense.  It  means  a part  in  the  world’s  affairs,  and  the  future  historian, 
in  portra3dng  the  magnificent  progress  of  the  Republic,  will  dwell  upon  the 
manifest  guidance  of  a power  higher  than  any  chance,  in  the  great  and 
pregnant  fact  that,  just  as  it  reached  the  stage  of  its  development  where 
its  industrial  upbuilding  needed  to  be  crowned  with  commercial  extension, 
the  unforeseen  and  mighty  events  of  the  Spanish  war  suddenly  lifted  the 
curtain  and  unveiled  the  new  prospect,  the  wider  horizon,  and  the  unexpected 
and  immeasurable  opportunity. 


CHAPTER  XEII 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


(By  LIEUTENANT-GENERAE  NELSON  A.  MILES,  Commanding  U.  S.  Army) 


JDO  not  think  I have  much  to  add  to  the  several  articles  I have  already 
written  concerning  the  American  army  and  its  achievements.  Here  is 
a synopsis,  however,  of  my  views  and  experiences  as  previously  ex- 
pressed. 

A year  ago  I wrote  about  the  United  States  army  and  its  commanders 
in  a popular  magazine  (Frank  Leslie’s),  and  can  do  no  better  now  than 
quote  certain  passages  from  that  paper : 

“ Our  service  is  quite  different  from  that  of  other  nations.  For  in- 
stance, in  the  British  service  it  is  not  difficult  for  a well-bred,  intelligent, 
ambitious  young  man  to  enter  the  military  service  and,  in  fact,  obtain  a 
commission.  A course  at  Sandhurst  is  two  years  instead  of  four,  as  in  our 
military  establishment  at  West  Point.  The  course,  while  not  so  rigid  in 
abstruse  mathematics,  appears  to  develop  the  splendid  manly  qualities  of 
the  young  men  ; and  their  physical  training  in  the  military  exercises  and 
outdoor  sports  and  in  the  gymnasium  tend  to  develop  to  the  highest  degree 
those  soldierly  traits.  I was  very  favorably  impressed  with  the  appearance 
of  the  corps  on  a visit  to  that  place  with  Lord  Wolseley,  commanding  the 
British  army.  In  this  way  those  men  were  taught  those  qualifications  they 
required  to  make  officers  and  true  representatives  of  the  British  empire,  and 
that  enabled  them  to  maintain  its  honor  in  any  service  they  might  be  called 
on  to  perform  in  any  part  of  the  globe.  The  enlistments  in  the  British 
army  are  purely  voluntary,  and  the  men  are  certainly  imbued  with  great 
pride  and  spirit,  from  the  drummer  boys  to  the  field  marshals,  all  proud  to 
wear  the  uniform  of  the  British  army  and  to  march  to  the  music  of  the 
grenadiers.  In  the  German  Government  it  is  entirely  different.  There  the 
armv  is  a military  machine,  where  every  boy  of  eighteen  is  required  to  serve 
434 


xp:lson  a.  aiiles, 

Lieutenant-General  United  States  Army, 
Contributes  the  chapter  in  tliis  volume  on  “ The  American  Army. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


435 


a number  of  3'ears  of  Ins  life  in  the  army,  with  no  prospect  of  promotion 
above  the  grade  of  sergeant. 

The  maximum  of  strength  and  efficiency  is  what  should  be  secured  in 
an  army  organization.  If  the  strength  and  efficienc}^  corresponding  to  the 
actual  numbers  of  the  army  are  such  as  to  endanger  the  supremac}^  of  the 
civil  government,  that  strength  and  efficiency  should  be  reduced  b}^  simply 
reducing  the  numbers  of  the  army,  not  b}^  distributing  and  paralyzing  the 
power  of  the  actual  numbers ; that  is  to  say,  if  we  have  an  army,  it  should 
be  so  organized  that  the  highest  possible  power  and  efficienc}^  will  be 
secured.  It  may  be  limited  in  numbers,  but  in  organization  and  efficiency 
it  should  be  perfect.  Among  the  names  of  officers  who  have  illustrated  the 
glory  of  our  countr}^  through  their  service  in  the  arni}^,  the  first  that  occur 
to  ever}^  American  will  be  those  of  Washington,  Greene,  Wa\me,  Knox, 
Jackson,  Harrison,  Brown,  McComb,  Scott,  Taylor,  McClellan,  Halleck, 
Grant,  Sherman,  Meade,  Hancock,  Sheridan,  Thomas,  McPherson,  Sedg- 
wick, Sumner,  Kearney,  Fremont,  Lyon,  Canb}^,  and  others.  It  is  note- 
worthy that  the  reputation  of  these  great  soldiers  was  in  ever}^  case  built 
up  of  long  as  well  as  brilliant  service.  In  no  case  has  it  been  the  result  of 
any  single  deed,  however  heroic. 

As  to  the  work  of  the  American  army  as  a whole,  I have  expressed  ni}"- 
self  in  a recent  contribution  to  the  volume,  “ The  American-Spanish  War.” 
In  it  I said  that  our  war  with  Spain  had  many  exceptional  features.  Some 
preceded,  some  occurred  during  the  progress,  and  some  appeared  after  the 
close  of  hostilities.  In  the  first  place,  there  was  a formal  declaration  of  war 
before  the  opening  of  hostilities.  This  is  not  onl}^  far  from  being  the  rule 
in  the  experience  of  warring  nations,  but  is  a rare  occurrence.  For  many 
months  the  nation  had  been  expecting  war.  Fift}^  millions  of  dollars  had 
been  appropriated  for  the  national  defense,  and  for  each  and  every  purpose 
connected  therewith,  to  be  expended  at  the  discretion  of  the  President.  Pre- 
sumably that  immense  sum  was  used  in  the  purchase  of  ships,  arms,  and 
the  munitions  of  war  for  the  army  and  navy,  that  new  levies  might  be 
promptly  armed  and  equipped.  That  the  war  was  inevitable  was  apparent 
to  every  thoughtful  reader  of  history. 

As  early  as  the  middle  of  April,  1898,  steps  were  taken  for  the  mobi- 
lization of  the  regular  troops,  various  regiments  of  infantry  being  ordered 
to  Mobile,  New  Orleans,  and  Tampa,  the  understanding  then  being  that 
these  orders  were  preparatory  to  an  immediate  movement  to  Cuba  upon  a 
declaration  of  war,  which  then  seemed  imminent.  On  further  consideration 
the  authorities  modified  this  order,  and  part  of  the  regular  infantry,  with 


436 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


artillery  and  cavalry,  was  diverted  to  Chattanooga  and  placed  in  camp  at 
Chickainauga  Park.  On  May  lo  the  regular  artillery  and  cavalry  were 
ordered  from  Chickainauga  to  Tampa,  preparatory  to  a movement  on 
Cuba.  Subsequently  70,000  men  were  ordered  to  move  on  Cuba,  and  com- 
missary stores  for  ninety  days  for  the  men  and  thirty  days  for  the  animals 
were  ordered  to  be  concentrated  at  Tampa,  but  the  want  of  proper  equip- 
ment and  ammunition  rendered  such  movement  impracticable,  and  it  never 
reached  the  stage  of  an  actual  attempt  at  departure  from  our  shores. 

The  President’s  proclamation  declaring  a state  of  war  appeared  on  the 
25th  of  April,  and  the  next  day  it  became  my  duty  to  advise  giving  prompt 
attention  to  the  equipment,  organization,  and  discipline  of  the  troops  for 
held  service,  and  that,  after  being  assembled,  organized,  and  sworn  into  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  they  would  require  uniforms,  tentage,  complete 
camp  equipage,  arms,  and  ammunition,  and  a full  supply  of  stationery,  in- 
cluding blank  books  for  reports  of  the  quartermaster’s  commissary,  medical 
and  ordnance  departments ; that  they  would  also  require  complete  equip- 
ment of  supplies  and  munitions  of  war,  hospital  appliances,  and  transporta- 
tion, including  ambulances  and  stretchers ; that  the  officers  and  non-com- 
missioned officers  would  have  to  be  appointed  and  promptly  instructed  in 
their  duties  and  responsibilities,  and  that  they  should  have  some  instruction 
in  tactical  exercises  and  other  duties  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  effi- 
ciency and  health  of  troops  in  the  held ; that  the  importance  of  this  prelim- 
inary work  was  urgent,  as  also  that  it  should  be  completed  in  advance  of  the 
troops  leaving  their  States ; and  it  was  furthermore  strongly  represented 
that  this  might  be  done  while  the  general  and  staff  officers  were  being 
selected,  appointed,  and  properly  instructed,  and  the  large  camps  were  being 
secured  and  stores  collected  therefor.  It  was  a matter  of  very  great  con- 
cern to  me  that  unequipped,  unnniformed  men,  b}^  the  thousands,  should 
not  be  collected  in  great  camps  away  from  their  States,  where  it  would  be 
difficult  for  them  to  be  properly  supplied  with  food,  camp  equipage,  blankets, 
tentage,  medical  supplies,  and  transportation  facilities ; for  the  absence  of 
these  supplies  could  not  but  cause  debilitating  results  upon  the  health  and 
strength  of  the  men  who  were  thus  gathered  together. 

While  the  railways  of  the  United  States  were  engaged  in  transporting 
troops,  munitions  of  war,  and  supplies  to  Tampa  and  other  points  of  depart- 
ure on  the  Gulf  and  South  Atlantic,  the  military  authorities  at  Washington 
took  steps  to  obtain  accurate  and  detailed  information  within  the  limits  of 
the  prospective  seat  of  war.  Two  ^^oiing,  energetic,  and  intelligent  officers 
of  the  Bureau  of  Military  Information  were  assigned,  the  one  to  Cuba,  the 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


437 


other  to  Porto  Rico,  to  attempt  the  daring  and  difficult  dut}"  of  ascertaining 
and  reporting  conditions  as  they  might  be  found  to  exist  in  the  territories 
respectively  assigned  to  them.  Both,  in  the  results  of  their  efforts,  gave  an 
abundant  proof  of  the  wisdom  of  their  selection. 

The  reports  of  conditions  at  Tampa  became  such  that  at  this  time  I 
determined  to  take  the  field  in  person,  with  headquarters  temporarily  at 
Tampa.  I issued  an  order  to  the  arm}^  designed  to  increase  and  promote 
the  esprit  de  corps  on  the  part  of  officers  and  men,  to  bring  the  military 
forces  to  the  highest  state  of  efficiency. 

Definite  information  having  been  received  that  Cervera’s  fleet  had  been 
inclosed  in  the  harbor  of  Santiago  de  Cuba  by  our  navy,  orders  were  given 
to  General  Shafter,  May  30,  to  embark  his  troops  and  proceed  to  that 
harbor,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  our  naval  forces  in  capturing  that  fleet, 
and  on  the  same  evening  I left  Washington. 

Reaching  Tampa  on  the  ist  of  June,  I found  that  place  crowded  with 
an  indiscriminate  accumulation  of  supplies  and  war  material.  The  con- 
fusion, owing  partly  to  the  want  of  terminal  railway  facilities,  and  partly  to 
the  want  of  system  in  loading  and  billing  materials,  appeared  for  the  time 
to  be  utterly  inextricable.  The  sidings  from  the  port  of  Tampa  for  perhaps 
fifty  miles  into  the  interior  were  blocked  with  cars,  and  the  resulting  diffi- 
culties of  the  situation  prevented  proper  embarkation  of  the  troops  earlier 
than  June  8,  on  which  date  the  flotilla  was  in  the  act  of  moving  to  sea. 
This  movement,  however,  was  suspended  by  orders  from  Washington,  and 
the  expedition  did  not  sail  until  the  14th.  My  request  for  permission  to 
accompany  the  expedition  had  not  been  granted,  and  on  the  day  following 
its  departure  I received,  and  immediately  complied  with,  the  following : 

‘‘Washington,  D.  C.,  June  15,  1898. 

“ Major-General  Miles,  Tampa,  Fla. : 

“ Important  business  requires  your  presence  here ; report  at  once. 
Answer.  R.  A.  Alger,  Secretary  of  War.” 

It  is  impossible  to  enter  into  the  details  of  this  expedition,  nor  is  it 
necessary,  and  I will  content  myself  with  merely  repeating  the  belief  which 
I entertained  from  the  first  and  stated  officially  to  the  department,  that  we 
could  secure  the  surrender  of  the  Spanish  army  in  the  island  of  Cuba  with- 
out any  great  loss  of  life.  I know  of  no  reason  at  present  to  revise  that 
opinion.  There  is,  however,  a duty  which  I owe  to  the  Cuban  patriots  be- 
fore leaving  this  part  of  my  subject,  and  that  is  to  make  clear  the  fact  of  the 
co-operation  received  from  their  governmental  and  military  authorities. 


438 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


While  at  Tampa,  on  the  9th,  and  again  on  the  12th  of  June,  I received 
cheering  news  by  cable  from  the  Cuban  patriots  in  response  to  1113^  commu- 
nications to  General  Garcia  on  the  2d.  These  were  in  the  form  of  sugges- 
tions and  requests,  but  they  were  heartily  accepted  as  commands.  Nothing 
could  have  been  more  convincing  of  the  hearty  good-will  of  the  Cubans  to- 
ward the  American  people  and  American  government  at  that  time  than  the 
alacrity  with  which  this  response  was  made  and  the  instructions  followed 
out.  So  anxious  was  General  Garcia  to  assure  us  of  the  readiness  of  the 
patriot  armies  and  people  to  co-operate  that  this  response  was  hurried  for- 
ward through  different  channels,  in  order  that  in  case  one  should  miscarr}^ 
another  might  reach  its  destination.  In  that  response  it  was  careful  to  add 
that  he  would  take  measures  at  once  to  carry  out  my  recommendations,  re- 
garding them  as  orders,  and  that  he  would  immediately  proceed  to  concen- 
trate forces  at  the  points  indicated  ; that  he  would  march  without  dela}" ; 
that  already  he  had  put  forces  in  motion  to  intercept  aid  going  from  Hol- 
guin and  other  points  to  Santiago ; repeating  every  assurance  of  good-will, 
he  desired  to  second  our  plans. 

It  was  on  the  6th  of  June  that  Colonel  Hernandez,  on  board  the 
steamer  “ Gloucester,”  had  arrived  in  the  harbor  of  Banes.  Proceeding 
ashore  at  once,  he  delivered  my  communication  to  General  Garcia,  who  had 
recently  come  into  possession  of  that  port.  It  conveyed  to  General  Garcia 
the  first  information  regarding  the  proposed  expedition  to  Santiago,  and  he 
immediately  gave  orders  for  the  concentration  suggested  in  the  vicinity  of 
Santiago  de  Cuba.  The  difficulties  in  his  way  were  very  great,  but 
were  overcome,  one  after  another,  until  on  the  19th,  at  7.30  A.M.,  he  had 
placed  himself  in  communication  with  Admiral  Sampson.  Invited  b}^  the 
latter  on  board  his  flagship,  the  two  proceeded  to  concert  a plan  of  attack 
preparatory  to  the  expected  arrival  of  General  Shaffer’s  expedition.  It 
should  not  be  forgotten  that  in  his  attitude  toward  the  military  authorities 
of  our  Government  General  Garcia  was  not  acting  simply  on  his  owm 
authority,  but  in  obedience  to  orders  that  he  had  previously  received  from 
the  Council  of  the  Cuban  Government,  to  obey  and  respect  the  orders  and 
instructions  of  the  commanders  of  the  American  army  whenever  they 
should  commence  operations  in  the  territory  under  his  command.  General 
Shaffer,  on  arrival  of  his  expedition  off  Santiago  Bay,  with  Admiral  Samp- 
son, visited  General  Garcia  at  his  headquarters  at  Aserradero  to  confer  with 
him  in  regard  to  the  attack  by  land.  The  result  of  this  conference  was 
that  it  was  determined  to  make  the  landing  of  the  American  forces  east 
instead  of  west  of  the  bay  of  Santiago,  and  Cuban  troops  were  placed  on 


FAMOrS  AMFRK’AX  J 

Gen.Junu-s  l.oiiu.strt^et,  C.  S.  A.,  born  in  Soutli  ('arolina 
in  1821. 

(ien.  Wintield  Scott,  II.  S.  A.,  born  in  Virginia  in  1786; 
died  1866. 

(ien.T.  .1  .Tack.son  (“Stonewall”),  C.  S.  A.,  born  in  Vir- 
ginia in  1824;  kilkal  at  ('hancellorsville,  1868. 

C'oin.  Stephen  Decatur,  V.  S.  N.,  born  in  Maryland  in 
1779;  killed  in  a duel  in  1820. 

(Ien.  .Toseph  K.  .Johnston,  C.  S.  A., 


1)1  FRS  AND  SAILORS. 

(ren.  Andrew  .Jackson,  born  in  North  Carolina  in  1767  ; 
died  in  1845. 

Admiral  Karragnt,  N.,  horn  in  Tennessee  in  1801; 

died  in  1870. 

Gen.Ivobeit  Iv  I.ee,  C.  S.  A.,  born  in  Virginia  in  1807) 
die<l  in  1S70. 

Gen.  Albert  S.  .Johns  >n,  C.  S.  A.,  born  in  Kentucky  in 
1808;  kibeilat  I’ittsburg  I^anding.  1862. 

I in  Virginia  in  1807  ; died  in  1891. 


P.It<).\ZI-:  ('AXXOX,  PARLY  PART  OP  TUP  XIXPTPPXTH  rpXTPRAA 
T\VPLVP-IX('H  I)ISAPPPAItIX(;  (JPX,  LATTPJJ  ILART  OP  TUP  NlNPTEPXTIl  CPXTURY. 

It  i:^  a long  step  from  tlie  old-fashioned  muzzle-loading  hronz(‘  cannon  of  hardly  a century  ago,  to  the  twelve-inchi 
hicech-loader  which  disap])ears  within  a few  seconds  ; ftci' d ischarg'c,  not  to  reappear  until  r»  ady  for  action  again. 

A sixteen-inch  giin,  one  of  tlie  most  tei’rific  (nigines  of  destruction  conceivahle,  is  at  j)resent  under  construction,  and. 
ju  rnaps  will  lx;  littetl  to  a <lisapj)caring  contrivance. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


439 


board  American  transports  to  reinforce  the  brigade  of  General  Ramon, 
already  in  position  to  protect  the  landing  of  the  American  forces.  These 
reinforcements  landed  at  Signa  and  advanced  at  once  on  Daiquiri,  the  united 
commands  being  under  General  Castillo.  The  Spanish  troops  at  Daiquiri 
hastily  abandoned  their  position  at  that  place,  which  was  at  once  occupied 
by  the  Cubans  ; and  when  the  American  navy  bombarded  the  hills  in  the 
vicinity  of  that  town,  preparatory  to  the  landing  of  the  forces  of  General 
Shafter,  the  result  of  this  bombardment  was  the  spilling  of  Cuban  blood 
only.  From  that  time  until  the  close  of  the  campaign  the  Cubans  were 
always  in  the  vanguard,  whether  at  Firmeza  and  Siboney  or  Las  Guasimas 
and  El  Caney. 

On  the  ist  of  July,  under  orders  from  General  Shafter,  General  Garcia, 
with  his  4,000  Cubans,  began  at  5.30  in  the  morning  his  march  toward 
Marianajo,  and  at  7 o’clock  occupied  the  positions  allotted  to  him  at  that 
point.  Marianajo  lies  between  El  Caney  and  San  Juan  Hill,  and  it  was  part 
of  the  duty  assigned  to  him  to  protect  both  El  Caney  and  San  Juan  Hill 
should  the  enemy  come  out  from  Santiago  to  reinforce  either  place  during 
the  battle.  This  duty  was  effectively  performed.  All  the  Cubans  were  under 
the  enemy’s  fire,  and  their  loss  amounted  to  about  a hundred.  After  the 
conclusion  of  this  day’s  action,  under  orders  from  General  Shafter,  General 
Garcia,  at  the  head  of  his  forces,  made  a night  march  to  the  extreme  right 
flank.  At  dawn  of  the  2d  he  was  north  of  the  city  in  a strong  position, 
with  his  vanguard  in  close  proximity  to  the  city,  and  during  the  2d  drove 
the  enemy  from  the  villages  cf  Cuabitas  and  Bonato,  and  captured  several 
fortified  positions,  closing  in  on  Vicente.  During  this  day  the  Cubans  suf- 
fered ten  casualties  ; the  skirmishing  continued  all  day.  From  this  time 
General  Garcia  continued  to  advance  and  extend  his  right  until  his  men 
scouted,  picketed,  and  occupied  the  ground  between  the  coast  and  the  bay 
of  Santiago,  and  at  the  same  time  strong  commands  were  covering  the  roads 
leading  from  Holguin  and  other  Spanish  garrisons  to  Santiago. 

Upon  the  surrender  of  Santiago,  General  Garcia,  commanding  the 
Cuban  forces,  was  debarred  from  aii}^  co-operation  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
honors  or  fruits  of  the  victory. 

On  the  26th  of  June  I received  a formal  order  to  organize  an  expedi- 
tion for  operation  against  the  enemy  in  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico,  with  which  I 
proceeded  at  once  to  comply.  The  limits  of  the  space  of  this  chapter  will  not 
permit  me  to  go  into  details  of  these  preparations,  nor  of  various  subsidiary 
military  enterprises  which  I had  advised,  such  as  the  capture  of  the  Isle  of 
Pines  and  the  harbor  of  Nipe,  nor  of  the  provisions  I recommended  against 


440 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


the  spread  of  yellow  fever,  which  had  broken  out  in  the  southern  portion 
of  our  own  country.  A clear  understanding  of  the  course  of  events  cannot 
be  obtained,  however,  with  the  omission  of  either  of  the  following  self- 
explanatory  dispatches : 

“ Playa  del  Este,  July  3,  1898. 

“ The  Secretary  of  War,  Washington  : 

We  have  the  town  well  invested  on  the  north  and  east,  but  with  a 
very  thin  line.  Upon  approaching  it  we  find  it  of  such  a character  and  the 
defenses  so  strong  it  will  be  impossible  to  carry  it  by  storm  with  my  present 
force,  and  I am  seriously  considering  withdrawing  about  five  miles  and 
taking  up  a new  position  on  the  high  ground  between  the  San  Juan  River 
and  Siboney,  with  our  left  at  Sardinero,  so  as  to  get  our  supplies,  to  a large 
extent,  by  means  of  the  railroad,  which  we  can  use,  having  engines  and 
cars  at  Siboney.  Our  losses  up  to  date  will  aggregate  a thousand,  but 
list  has  not  yet  been  made ; but  little  sickness,  outside  of  exhaustion  from 
intense  heat  and  exertion  of  the  battle  of  the  day  before  yesterday  and  the 
almost  constant  fire  which  is  kept  up  on  the  trenches.  Wagon  road  to  the 
rear  is  kept  up  with  some  difficulty  on  account  of  rains,  but  I will  be  able 
to  use  it  for  the  present.  General  Wheeler  is  seriously  ill  and  will  probably 
have  to  go  to  the  rear  to-day.  General  Young  is  also  very  ill,  confined  to  his 
bed.  General  Hawkins  slightly  wounded  in  foot.  During  sortie  enemy 
made  last  night,  which  was  handsomely  repulsed,  the  behavior  of  the  reg- 
ular troops  was  magnificent.  I am  urging  Admiral  Sampson  to  attempt  to 
force  the  entrance  of  the  harbor,  and  will  have  a consultation  with  him  this 
morning.  He  is  coming  to  the  front  to  see  me.  I have  been  unable  to  be 
out  during  the  heat  of  the  day  for  four  days,  but  am  retaining  the  command. 
General  Garcia  reports  he  holds  the  railroad  from  Santiago  to  San  Luis,  and 
has  burned  a bridge  and  removed  some  rails  ; also  that  General  Pando  has 
arrived  at  Palma,  and  that  the  French  consul,  with  about  400  French  citi- 
zens, came  into  his  lines  yesterday  from  Santiago ; have  directed  him  to 
treat  them 'with  every  courtesy  possible. 

‘‘  11.44  A.  M.  Shafter,  Major-General.” 

‘‘  Headquarters  of  the  Army, 

“Washington,  D.  C.,  July  3,  1898. 

“ General  Shafter,  Playa  del  Este,  Cuba : 

“ Accept  my  hearty  congratulations  on  the  record  made  of  magnificent 
fortitude,  gallantr^q  and  sacrifice  displayed  in  the  desperate  fighting  of  the 
troops  before  Santiago.  I realize  the  hardships,  difficulties,  and  sufferings, 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


441 


and  am  proud  that  amid  those  terrible  scenes  the  troops  illustrated  such 
fearlessness  and  patriotic  devotion  to  the  welfare  of  our  common  country 
and  flag.  Whatever  the  results  to  follow  their  unsurpassed  deeds  of  valor, 
the  past  is  already  a gratifying  chapter  of  history.  I expect  to  be  with  you 
within  one  week,  with  strong  reinforcements. 

“ Miles,  Major-General  Commanding.” 

“ Headquarters  Fifth  Army  Corps, 

“ Near  Santiago,  Pla3^a,  Jul}^  4,  1898. 

“ Major-General  Nelson  A.  Miles, 

“ Commanding  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  Washington  : 

“ I thank  you  in  the  name  of  the  gallant  men  I have  the  honor  to  com- 
mand for  splendid  tribute  of  praise  which  you  have  accorded  them.  They 
bore  themselves  as  American  soldiers  always  have.  Your  telegram  will  be 
published  at  the  head  of  the  regiments  in  the  morning.  I feel  that  I am 
master  of  the  situation  and  can  hold  the  enemy  for  any  length  of  time.  I 
am  delighted  to  know  that  you  are  coming,  that  3^011  may  see  for  yourself 
the  obstacles  which  this  army  had  to  overcome.  My  only  regret  is  the  great 
number  of  gallant  souls  who  have  given  their  lives  for  our  countiy’s  cause. 

“ Shafter.” 

I left  Washington  for  Charleston,  S.  C.,  on  the  evening  of  Jul3^  7,  and 
on  board  the  steamer  “Yale,”  loaded  with  1,500  troops,  and  accompanied  by 
the  steamer  “Columbia,”  also  conveying  troops.  I arrived  off  Santiago  harbor 
on  the  morning  of  July  ii,  and,  the  bombardment  being  in  progress,  noti- 
fied Admiral  Sampson,  commanding  the  fleet,  of  my  purpose  to  land  the 
troops  I had  brought  with  me,  within  a little  harbor  called  Cabanas,  two  and 
a half  miles  from  the  entrance  of  Santiago  harbor,  preparatory  to  a prompt 
advance  against  the  Spanish  position.  The  admiral  at  once  came  on  board 
the  “Yale”  and  I explained  to  him  more  fully  the  purpose  of  nn^  presence 
and  11137  plan  of  operations,  and  received  his  very  cordial  acquiescence  in 
the  plan  and  assurance  of  his  readiness  to  co-operate.  I then  went  on  shore 
and  opened  communication  with  General  Shafter,  between  whom  and  Wash- 
ington the  following  dispatches  had  been  exchanged  : 

“ Headquarters  Fifth  Army  Corps,  Sibone34  via  Haiti. 

“ Received  Washington,  July  10,  1898,  5.55  p.  M. 
“Adjutant-General,  U.  S.  Army,  Washington: 

“ I have  just  received  letter  from  General  Toral  declining  unconditional 
surrender.  Bombardment  by  the  army  and  nav37  will  begin  at  as  near  4 
p.  M.  to-day  as  possible.  “ Shafter,  ]\Iajor-General.” 


442 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


‘‘  War  Department,  July  lo,  1898. 

“ General  Shafter,  Playa  del  Este,  Santiago,  Cuba  : 

“ Should  the  Spaniards  surrender  unconditional!}^  and  wish  to  return  to 
Spain,  they  will  be  sent  back  direct  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States 
Government.  R.  A.  Alger,  Secretary  of  War.” 

At  12.45  General  Shafter  signaled  to  Admiral  Sampson : 

“ Please  continue  firing  with  heavy  guns  until  eleven  o’clock,  and  then 
cease  firing  until  further  orders.” 

At  4.45  P.  M.  the  “Brooklyn”  reported  to  the  flagship  : “General  Shafter 
reports  that  fire  from  ships  very  accurate,  shells  falling  in  city  ; lines  have 
been  advanced.  Flag  of  truce  went  forward  to  demand  unconditional  sur- 
render. Will  communicate  with  you  fully  directly  to  Aguadores  as  to  time 
of  firing  and  result  of  truce.” 

On  Jul}^  12,  as  stated  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  his  annual  re- 
port, the  admiral  received  a dispatch  from  General  Shafter,  stating  : “ My 
lines  are  now  complete  to  the  bay  north  of  Santiago.  Your  shots  can  be 
observed  from  here  perfectly — at  least  those  that  fall  in  the  town.  Flames 
followed  several  shots  fired  to  day.” 

On  that  morning  I rode  from  Siboney  to  the  headquarters  of  General 
Shafter.  After  consulting  with  him,  he  sent  a communication  to  General 
Toral,  saying  that  the  commanding  general  of  the  American  army  had 
arrived  in  his  camp  with  reinforcements,  and  that  we  desired  to  meet  him 
between  the  lines  at  any  time  agreeable  to  him.  He  replied  that  he  would  see 
us  at  twelve  o’clock  next  day.  The  interview  was  held,  after  which  I rode 
along  the  trenches  from  right  to  left,  examining  the  entire  position,  during 
the  progress  of  which  I received  the  following  in  reply  to  a telegram  I had 
sent  the  night  before  : 

“Washington,  D.  C.,  July  13,  1898  (Received  2.45  P.  M.). 

“ Major-General  Miles  : 

“ You  may  accept  surrender  by  granting  parole  to  ofiGcers  and  men,  the 
officers  retaining  their  side  arms.  The  officers  and  men  after  parole  to 
return  to  Spain,  the  United  States  assisting.  If  not  accepted,  then  assault 
— unless  in  j^our  judgment  an  assault  would  fail.  Consult  with  Sampson 
and  pursue  such  course  as  to  the  assault  as  yon  jointly  agree  upon.  Mat- 
ters should  be  settled  promptly.  R.  A.  Alger,  Secretary  of  War.” 

Just  before  the  time  appointed  for  a second  meeting  with  the  Spanish 
commander  between  the  lines,  a letter  was  received  of  which  the  following 
is  a translation  : 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


443 


“ Santiago  de  Cuba,  Jnl}^  14,  1898. 

“ Honored  Sir  : His  Excellency  the  General-in-Chief  of  the  Army  of 
the  Island  of  Cuba  telegraphs  from  Havana  yesterday  at  7 P.  M.  the  follow- 
ing : ‘ Believing  the  business  of  such  importance  as  the  capitulation  of  that 
place  should  be  known  and  decided  upon  by  the  Government  of  His  Majesty, 
I give  you  notice  that  I have  sent  the  conditions  of  your  telegram,  asking  an 
immediate  answer,  and  enabling  you  also  to  show  this  to  the  General  of  the 
American  army  to  see  if  he  will  agree  to  await  the  answer  of  the  Govern- 
ment, which  cannot  be  as  soon  as  the  time  he  has  decided,  as  communication 
by  way  of  Bermuda  is  more  slow  than  b}^  Key  West.  In  the  meanwhile 
your  honor  and  the  General  of  the  American  army  may  agree  upon  capitu- 
lation on  the  basis  of  repatriation  [returning  to  Spain].’  I have  the  honor 
to  transmit  this  to  you,  in  case  you  may  [consider]  the  foregoing  satisfac- 
tory, that  we  may  designate  persons  in  representation  of  himself,  who,  with 
those  in  my  name,  agree  to  clauses  of  the  capitulation  upon  the  basis  of 
the  return  to  Spain,  accepted  already  in  the  beginning  by  the  General-in- 
Chief  of  this  army. 

“ Awaiting  a reply,  I am,  very  respectfully,  your  servant, 

“Jose  Toral,  etc. 

“ General-in-Chief  of  the  American  forces.” 

My  reply  was  made  verbally  at  the  interview  which  immediatel}^  fol- 
lowed, and  which  resulted  in  a definite  surrender,  not  onl}^  of  the  Spanish 
garrison  of  Santiago,  but  of  all  the  troops  in  the  eastern  end  of  Cuba.  This 
was  largely  due  to  the  action  of  General  Garcia  and  his  troops.  It  is  set 
forth  in  the  following  self-explanatory  telegram  : 

“ Headquarters  Cavalry  Division,  United  States  Army,  ' 

“Before  Santiago,  Cuba,  July  14,  1898,  12.55 
“ The  Secretary  of  War,  Washington,  D.  C. : 

“ General  Toral  formally  surrendered  the  troops  of  his  army  corps  and 
division  of  Santiago  on  the  terms  and  understanding  that  his  troops  should 
be  returned  to  Spain.  General  Shafter  will  appoint  commissioners  to  draw 
up  the  conditions  of  arrangement  for  carrying  out  the  terms  of  surrender. 
This  is  very  gratifying,  and  General  Shafter  and  the  officers  and  men  of  this 
command  are  entitled  to  great  credit  for  their  tenacity  and  fortitude  in  over- 
coming almost  insuperable  obstacles  which  they  have  encountered.  A por- 
tion of  the  army  has  been  infected  with  yellow  fever,  and  efforts  will  be 
made  to  separate  those  who  are  infected  and  those  free  from  it,  and  to  keep 
those  who  are  still  on  board  ship  separate  from  those  on  shore.  Arrange- 


444 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


nients  will  be  immediately  made  for  carrying  out  tbe  further  instructions  of 
the  President  and  yourself. 

“ Miles,  Major-General,  Commander  the  Army.” 

Directing  General  Shafter  to  appoint  commissioners  provided  for  in  the 
terms  of  surrender,  in  a letter  of  instruction,  and  in  other  written  commu- 
nications instructing  him  to  take  immediate  measures  for  the  protection  of 
the  health  of  the  troops,  I returned  to  Siboney  to  push  forward  preparations 
for  an  immediate  descent  upon  Porto  Rico.  While  these  preparations  were 
in  progress  I visited  and  inspected  Daiquiri  and  other  stations,  and  on  the 
nth  of  July  concentrated  transports  at  Guantanamo  Bay,  in  order  to  take 
on  water,  coal,  etc.,  having  immediately  after  the  agreement  to  surrender 
asked  Admiral  Sampson  to  supply  me  with  naval  convoy. 

By  3 o’clock  of  that  day,  July  21,  the  ships  of  the  flotilla  were  heav- 
ing anchors,  and  presently  thereafter  were  majestically  plowing  the  waters 
of  the  deep  in  the  direction  of  Porto  Rico.  So  important  did  I consider 
the  necessity  of  moving  the  troops  away  from  the  yellow  fever  and  ma- 
larial camps  that  I gave  orders  for  them  to  move  to  the  seashore  or  the 
mountains,  and  just  before  departure  a final  telegram  was  sent  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  War : 

‘‘  Headquarters  of  the  Army,  on  board  U.  S.  S.  ‘ Yale’ 

“ Guantanamo  Bay,  July  21,  1898. 

“ Secretary  of  War,  Washington,  D.  C. : 

* ^ ^ ^ :iJ  * Hi 

“ There  is  not  a single  regiment  of  regulars  or  volunteers  with  General 
Shafter’s  command  that  is  not  infected  with  yellow  fever,  from  one  case  in 
the  Eighth  Ohio  to  thirty-six  in  the  Thirty-third  Michigan. 

After  consulting  with  best  medical  authorities,  it  is  my  opinion  that  the 
best  mode  of  ridding  the  troops  of  the  fever  will  be  as  I have  directed, 
namely,  the  troops  to  go  up  as  high  into  the  mountains  as  possible,  selecting 
fresh  camps  every  day.  If  this  does  not  check  the  spread  of  the  disease,  the 
only  way  of  saving  a large  portion  of  the  command  will  be  to  put  them 
on  transports  and  ship  them  to  the  New  England  coast  to  some  point  to  be 
designated  by  the  Surgeon-General. 

“ Miles,  Major-General,  Commanding.” 

We  were  moving  with  an  effective  force  of  3,314  men  against  an  enemy 
over  17,000  strong.  The  convoy  under  Captain  Higginson  consisted  of  the 
battleship  “Massachusetts”  and  two  smaller  vessels.  The  “Yale”  and 
“ Columbia,”  though  armed  ships,  were  loaded  with  troops,  and  therefore 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


445 


available  only  as  transports.  The  long  and  anxiously  looked  for  tugs, 
launches,  and  lighters,  that  had  been  ordered  from  Santiago,  Washington, 
and  Tampa,  were  expected  at  any  moment  to  heave  in  sight,  and  the  hope 
of  meeting  them  was  not  given  np  until  the  entire  Windward  Passage  had 
been  traversed.  Then,  beyond  the  possibility  of  further  cable  communica- 
tion with  the  Government,  I signaled  to  the  commander  of  the  convoy  to 
halt  long  enough  to  send  him  by  a boat  lowered  for  the  purpose  the 
following : 

“ On  board  U.  S.  S.  ‘ Yale,’ 

“ En  Route  to  Porto  Rico,  July  22,  1898. 

“ Sir  : Oiir  objective  point  has  been  Pt.  Fajardo  or  Cape  San  Juan,  but 
as  so  much  time  has  occurred  since  the  movement  was  decided  in  that  direc- 
tion, such  publicity  has  been  given  the  enterprise  that  the  enemy  has 
undoubtedly  become  apprised  of  our  purpose.  While  it  is  advisable  to 
make  a demonstration  near  the  harbor  of  San  Juan,  near  Pt.  Fajardo,  or 
Pt.  Tigueroa,  I am  not  decided  as  to  the  advisability  of  landing  at  either 
of  these  places,  as  we  may  find  them  well  occupied  by  strong  Spanish 
forces.  If  we  draw  them  to  that  vicinity,  we  might  find  it  judicious  to 
quickly  move  up  to  Porto  Guanica,  where  there  is  deep  water  near  the 
shore — four  and  one-half  fathoms — and  good  facilities  for  landing.  We 
can  move  from  Cape  San  Juan  to  that  point  in  twelve  hours  (one  night), 
and  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  Spanish  to  concentrate  their  forces  there 
before  we  will  be  reinforced.  I am  also  informed  that  there  are  a large 
number  of  strong  lighters  in  the  harbor  at  Ponce  and  Guanica,  as  well  as 
several  sailing  vessels,  which  would  be  useful.  As  it  is  always  advisable 
not  to  do  what  your  enemy  expects  you  to  do,  I think  it  advisable,  after 
going  around  the  northeast  corner  of  Porto  Rico,  to  go  immediately  to 
Guanica  and  land  this  force  and  move  on  Ponce,  which  is  the  largest  city 
in  Porto  Rico.  After  or  before  this  is  accomplished,  we  will  receive  large 
reinforcements,  which  will  enable  us  to  move  in  any  direction  or  occupy 
any  portion  of  the  island  of  Porto  Rico. 

“Your  strong  vessels  can  cover  our  landing,  and  capture  any  vessels 
in  the  harbor  of  Ponce,  Guanica,  or  the  ports  on  the  southern  coast ; one 
light  vessel  can  remain  at  San  Juan  to  notify  transports  that  will  arrive 
where  we  have  landed,  and  another  can  scout  off  the  northwest  corner  of 
Porto  Rico  to  intercept  others  and  direct  them  where  to  find  us. 

“ Very  respectfully,  “ Nelson  A.  Miles, 

“Major-General,  Commanding  United  States  Army. 

“ Captain  Francis  J.  Higginson,  Command  United  States  Naval  Convoy.” 


446 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


Two  days  later,  in  pursuance  of  understanding  with  Captain  Higgin- 
son,  arrived  at  by  means  of  signaling,  another  halt  was  made,  while  Captain 
Whitney,  of  my  staff,  visited  Captain  Higginson  with  his  maps  and 
reports,  under  instruction  to  give  him  all  information  it  was  possible  to  give 
as  to  the  result  of  his  late  secret  explorations  on  the  island  of  Porto  Rico. 

The  design  of  this  chapter  will  not  admit  of  any  detailed  account  of 
an  impressive  burial  at  sea  and  other  incidents  of  the  voyage,  nor  to  the 
subsequent  campaign,  the  history  there  being  already  given  by  another 
participant  and  in  another  chapter.  Enough  that  the  voyage  ended  off 
Guanica  at  daylight,  July  25,  the  harbor  being  entered  without  serious  op- 
position, and  the  landing  speedily  effected,  the  resistance  overcome  after  a 
short  skirmish,  and  the  flag  of  the  United  States  at  once  hoisted  over  Porto 
Rican  soil.  The  day  following,  the  town  of  Yauco  was  occupied,  after  a 
spirited  engagement,  by  troops  under  General  Garretson,  giving  ns  posses- 
sion of  the  railroad  and  highway  to  the  city  of  Ponce.  The  day  following 
the  spirited  engagements  at  Guanica  and  Yauco,  the  villagers  who  had  fled 
during  the  affair  had  come  back.  Among  the  number  who  crowded  about 
our  horses,  as  we  sat  watching  the  movements  of  the  troops  and  the  return 
of  the  excited  villagers,  was  a tall,  slender,  black-eyed  Ethiopian,  whom 
I observed  coming  close  up  to  my  horse.  Looking  at  me  full  in  the  face 
with  the  most  intense  earnestness,  he  secured  my  attention.  I spoke  to  him 
kindly  and  asked  him  what  he  wanted.  He  said  in  good  English  : “Is 
this  General  Miles  ?”  and  he  repeated  the  question  after  being  answered  in 
the  affirmative.  I reassured  him  of  the  fact,  then  he  took  a letter  which  had 
been  sewed  inside  his  shirt,  written  on  fine  French  note  paper,  in  the 
Spanish  language,  and  handed  it  to  me,  the  translation  of  which  is  as 
follows : 

" To  THE  Chief  of  Operations  of  the  Invading  Army  of  the  Amer- 
ican Union  : 

“ Citizen  : Not  knowing  exactly  how  I ought  to  guide  myself  in 
entering  into  a direct  communication  with  your  camp,  I direct  this  to  the  • 
chief  of  operations,  to  express  to  you  my  duty  in  these  historical  moments 
and  that  trust  in  the  power  of  a strong  conscience  and  in  the  valor  of  arms 
as  they  pertain  to  the  great  issues  of  liberty  and  of  patriotism  in  this  island. 
An  absolute  militar}^  censorship  shuts  out  from  the  city  the  means  of  ob- 
taining the  news,  and  I wish  that  you  and  your  companions  may  know  the 
true  feeling  of  our  municipality.  Here  we  wait  with  impatience  American 
occupation  that  comes  to  break  the  chain  that  has  been  forged  constantly 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


447 


during  four  centuries  of  infamous  spoliation,  of  torpid  despotism,  and 
shameful  moral  slavery.  When  the  rudders  of  the  American  ships  entered 
the  waters  of  the  coast  of  Guanica  to  bear  to  this  countr}^  political  revolu- 
tion, great  confidence  was  born  again,  again  was  awakened  the  ideal  of 
sleeping  patriotism  in  our  consciences  and  the  lullaby  of  perfidious  prom- 
ises which  have  never  been  fulfilled.  An  entire  city,  with  the  exception  of 
those  who  live  under  the  shadow  of  pretense  and  official  immunity,  is  pre- 
pared to  solemnize  the  glorious  triumph  of  civilization,  and  offers  its  blood 
as  a holocaust  to  such  a grand  proposition.  Let  this  message  bear  to  you 
notice  that  one  municipal  conscience  does  not  sleep  and  wait.  Here  you 
can  count  on  the  great  masses  who  are  prepared  to  second  your  gigantic 
strength.  All  the  districts  of  this  jurisdiction  are  prepared  for  combat.  The 
districts  of  the  city  are  also  prepared.  Men  of  intrepid  heart  surround  me, 
ready  for  the  struggle.  The  only  thing  that  prevents  the  manifestation  of 
unity  is  an  absolute  need  of  the  elements  of  war.  On  the  other  hand,  we 
have  already  driven  from  the  town  our  eternal  enemies  to  the  rights  of  Porto 
Ricans.  I do  not  wish  to  impose  upon  my  ideas  of  patriotism  the  grave  re- 
sponsibilit}^  of  directing  my  men  upon  the  enemy  without  capacity  to  main- 
tain the  struggle.  In  this  moment  of  activity  may  this  communication 
serve  to  dispose  3^011  to  embrace  an  opportunity  to  utilize  the  services  that  I 
offer.  Before  closing,  I wish  to  warn  3^011  that  at  the  entrance  to  this  city, 
on  the  roads  of  Adjuntas  and  Canas,  the  Spanish  Government  is  actively 
engaged  in  constructing  several  trenches  to  foolishly  obstruct  the  march  of 
the  army  of  libert3^,  and  they  are  concealing  themselves  in  the  small  neigh- 
boring hills  and  difficult  passes  in  the  canons  in  order  to  carr3^  out  this 
resistance.  With  many  wishes  for  3’our  health,  and  much  appreciation  of 
the  great  triumph  of  America, 

am,  3^our  humble  servant, 

“July  26,  1898  (Ponce,  P.  R.).  Felix  Mati  Bernier.” 

The  above  illustrates  the  sentiment  of  the  intelligent  portion  of  the 
people  of  Porto  Rico,  as  well  as  the  courage  that  would  prompt  a man  to 
write  a letter  of  that  kind  and  send  it  through  the  Spanish  lines, 
thereby  running  the  risk  of  death,  if  not  torture,  in  case  of  discovery. 
In  fact,  the  atrocities  that  were  perpetrated  upon  men  holding  such  senti- 
ments within  our  own  time  would  better  become  the  people  of  the  dark 
ages  than  of  the  nineteenth  century,  under  a so-called  civilized  government. 
There  are  men  who  exhibit  hands  the  joints  of  which  have  been  crushed 
by  the  blows  of  a hammer,  or  feet  the  soles  of  which  have  been  shaved  off 


448 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


and  they  afterward  compelled  to  walk  on  the  gravel  road  between  Ponce 
and  San  Juan.  The}^  can  show  other  scars  and  mutilations,  by  which  they 
have  been  tortured,  when  their  only  offense  was,  love  of  liberty  and  hope  of 
freedom.  People  possessing  such  sentiments  as  are  indicated  in  the  above 
letter,  and  the  courage  to  write  them  under  such  circumstances,  are  richly 
deserving  of  their  liberty.  To  such  a people  it  was  my  pleasure  to  issue 
the  following  proclamation  : 

“ Headquarters  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States, 

“ Ponce,  Porto  Rico,  July  28,  1898. 
^‘To  THE  Inhabitants  of  Porto  Rico: 

“ In  the  prosecution  of  the  war  against  the  kingdom  of  Spain  by  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  justice,  and  humanity, 
its  military  forces  have  come  to  occupy  the  island  of  Porto  Rico.  They 
come,  bearing  the  banner  of  freedom,  inspired  by  a noble  purpose  to  seek 
the  enemies  of  our  couiitr}^  and  yours,  and  to  destroy  and  capture  all  w^ho 
are  in  armed  resistance.  They  bring  you  the  fostering  arm  of  a nation  of 
free  people,  whose  greatest  power  is  in  its  justice  and  humanity,  to  all  those 
living  within  its  fold.  Hence,  the  first  effect  of  this  occupation  will  be  the 
immediate  release  from  ^mur  former  political  relations,  and  it  is  hoped  a 
cheerful  acceptance  of  the  government  of  the  United  States. 

‘‘  The  first  object  of  the  iVmericaii  military  forces  will  be  to  overthrow 
the  armed  authority  of  Spain,  and  to  give  to  the  people  of  your  beautiful 
island  the  largest  measure  of  liberty  consistent  with  this  military  occupa- 
tion. We  have  not  come  to  make  war  upon  the  people  of  a country  that 
for  centuries  have  been  oppressed,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  bring  protection, 
not  only  to  yourselves,  but  to  your  property,  to  promote  your  prosperity  and 
bestow  upon  you  the  immunities  and  blessings  of  the  liberal  institutions  of 
our  government.  It  is  not  our  purpose  to  interfere  with  any  existing  laws 
and  customs  that  are  wholesome  and  beneficial  to  your  people,  so  long  as 
the}^  conform  to  the  rules  of  militar}^  administration  of  order  and  justice. 

‘‘  This  is  not  a war  of  devastation,  but  one  to  give  to  all  within  the  con- 
trol of  its  military  and  naval  forces  the  advantages  and  blessings  of 
enlightened  civilization.  NeLvSON  A.  MieEvS, 

“ iMajor-General,  Commanding  United  States  Army.” 

This  was  seed  sown  on  good  ground,  and  a bountiful  and  speedy  harvest 
of  patriotic  sentiment  was  the  result.  The  sentiment  spread  like  magic 
over  the  island.  It  caused  a large  number  of  volunteers  immediately  to 
desert  the  cause  and  colors  of  Spain.  They  returned  to  their  homes,  sur- 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


449 


rendered  their  arms  and  equipments,  and  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
United  States  ; and  this  had  a discouraging  and  demoralizing  effect  upon 
the  regular  troops  of  the  Spanish  Government,  which  greatly  aided  us  in 
the  conquest  of  the  island. 

On  the  27th  of  July  reinforcements  arrived  under  Major-General  Wil- 
son, and  that  night  the  expedition  started  from  the  ba}^  of  Guanica,  timed  to 
reach  that  of  Ponce  at  daylight.  The  combined  movement  resulted  as  planned, 
to  the  letter,  and  the  American  flag  waved  over  the  public  buildings  of  the  port 
and  the  city  founded  by  Ponce  de  Leon.  Still  further  reinforcements  arrived 
under  Brigadier-General  Schwan  on  the  last  day  of  July.  The  movements  of 
the  different  columns  and  short  engagements  have  been  described  by  another, 
and  the  results  were  most  gratifying.  On  the  1 3 th  of  August  I received  noti- 
flcation  from  the  War  Department  that  the  President  had  signed  preliminaries 
of  peace,  and  instructed  a cessation  of  hostilities.  With  the  utmost  dis- 
patch of  wire  and  horsemanship,  I called  a halt  on  the  four  columns  press- 
ing the  island,  with  the  prospect  that  within  a few  days  the  entire  island 
would  have  been  in  our  possession,  including  the  capital  city  of  San  Juan. 

Four  of  these  columns  had  been  in  actual  contact  with  the  enemy,  and 
two  were  in  the  very  act  of  opening  battle,  when  the  messages  of  instruc- 
tion arrived  on  foaming  horses,  putting  an  end  to  further  bloodshed.  The 
balance  of  our  main  force  had  already  passed  around  the  mountains  or  over 
the  mountain  trails  to  the  north  side  of  the  island,  in  spite  of  every  and  all 
opposition  of  the  Spaniards,  and  our  forces  were  then  in  such  a position  as 
to  make  that  of  the  Spanish  forces,  outside  of  the  garrison  at  San  Juan, 
utterly  untenable.  The  Spaniards  had  been  defeated,  or  captured,  in  six 
different  engagements,  and  driven  from  every  position  they  had  taken  up 
to  that  time.  The  number  of  troops  then  in  Puerto  Rico  on  our  side  did 
not  exceed  14,365,  only  6,342  of  whom  had  actually  engaged  the  enemy; 
and  I had  advised  the  Secretary  of  War  that  no  more  of  the  large  force 
which  had  been  designed  by  the  department  for  this  expedition  need  be 
sent.  When  the  protocol  was  signed  at  4.23  P.  M.,  the  bombardment  of 
Manzanillo  had  been  in  progress  for  an  hour,  and  it  continued  until  the 
next  morning,  when  the  news  of  the  cessation  of  hostilities  arrived  and  put 
an  end  to  the  bombardment.  On  the  same  morning  hostilities  were  renewed 
at  Manila,  where  the  war  had  so  gloriously  opened  on  the  ist  of  Ma3^ 
The  attack  upon  that  city  by  Dewey  and  Merritt  began  as  previously 
planned,  as  it  was  impossible  to  get  news  of  the  signing  of  preliminaries 
of  peace  much  within  a week.  A division  of  the  naval  squadron  shelled 
the  forts  on  the  south  side  of  the  cit}^  while  the  trenches  were  occupied  by 


450 


THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 


the  land  forces  under  command  of  General  Merritt.  The  squadron  had  no 
casualties;  no  vessels  were  injured,  and  the  losses  among  our  troops  were 
only  five  men  killed.  General  Merritt’s  men  followed  the  retreating  Span- 
iards into  the  walled  city,  where  their  commander  agreed  upon  terms  of 
capitulation.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  on  the  morning  of  August  13 
actual  fighting  was  in  progress  between  the  Spanish  and  American  armed 
forces  in  Porto  Rico  and  in  the  Philippines — an  extreme  distance  of  175 
degrees  of  longitude,  about  12,500  miles.  At  the  same  time  preparations 
were  in  an  advanced  stage  of  progress  for  a demonstration  upon  the  Span- 
ish coasts  and  the  islands  of  Spain,  in  the  Mediterranean  as  well  as  in  the 
Atlantic,  and  a state  of  hostilities  would  undoubtedly  have  been  in  opera- 
tion there  within  a very  few  weeks  at  the  furthest  had  not  the  preliminary 
terms  of  peace  been  agreed  upon. 

It  is  plain  now  to  all,  as  it  was  to  a few  at  the  beginning,  that  grand 
strategy  required  the  seizure  of  Porto  Rico  immediately  upon  the  com- 
mencement of  hostilities.  That  island,  having  enjoyed  a long  period  of 
peace,  was  then  totally  unprepared  to  resist  any  considerable  attacking 
force,  either  naval  or  military.  That  island  in  our  possession,  reinforce- 
ments of  Cuba,  naval  or  military,  would  have  been  out  of  the  question ; 
that  is  to  say,  any  attempt  to  reinforce  or  reprovision  the  Spanish  forces  in 
Cuba  would  have  resulted  in  failure. 


The  Publisher  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  appreciation  of  the  courtesy  of  INIrs.  Frank  Leslie,  and  tne 
Messrs.  Chas.  C.  Haskell  & Son,  to  whom  he  is  indebted  for  much  of  the  matter  comprised  in  the  article 
by  Lieutenant-General  Miles. 


Capitol  OF 
LlHlTED5TArE5 

‘ AFr£l\  THE. 

I&I4  ^ 


ThE^ 

Ca  pitol' 

AT 


THE  CAPITOLS  OF  OCR  COCXTRY. 

Carpenters’  Hall,  of  Philadelphia,  still  standing,  was  the  hall  of  the  oonipany  or  organization  of  the  carpenters  of 
the  city,  analogous  to  the  guild  halls  of  London.  The  first  Continental  Congress  met  there  in  September,  1774,  and  the 
second  Continental  Congress  began  its  session  in  the  same  building.  The  stress  of  war  caused  many  shiftings  about  of 
the  seat  of  government,  and  from  January,  1785,  to  October,  1788,  Congress  met  in  the  old  City  Hall  building  in  New 
York.  The  interior  of  the  national  Capitol  at  Washington  was  burned  by  the  British,  August  24th,  1814.  The  corner 
stone  of  the  present  magnificent  structure  was  laid  by  President  I'illmore,  July  4th,  18.51,  and  it  was  finished  in  18fi7. 


IIOLAXI)  P.  FAULKNER,  Pfl.  D., 

Associate  Professor  of  Statistics,  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
Contributes  tlie  chapter  in  tliis  volume  on  “Wealtli  and  Welfare.’ 


CHAPTER  XLIII 


WEALTH  AND  WELFARE 
[By  prof.  ROLAND  P.  FAULKNER.] 

The  nineteenth  century  dawned  with  a gloomy  outlook  for  the  future 
of  humanity.  The  golden  promises  of  the  French  Revolution 
seemed  to  have  borne  only  the  bitter  fruit  of  military  despotism. 
Its  new  doctrines  of  humanity,  its  new  solicitude  for  the  well-being  of  the 
masses,  had  aroused  the  forces  of  despotism  throughout  Europe,  and  in  self- 
defense  the  French  had  to  create  a great  military  machine,  which,  in  turn, 
trampled  on  the  new-born  liberties  of  the  people  and  brought  a masterful 
and  ruthless  military  adventurer  to  the  supreme  power.  Such  was  the 
situation  on  the  continent  of  Europe. 

In  England,  the  political  liberty  which  is  the  forerunner  of  the 
economic  liberty  under  which,  in  the  present  century,  wealth  has  increased 
and  prosperity  extended  to  all  masses  of  the  people  had  already  been 
attained.  But  the  industrial  conditions  of  the  people,  then  in  the  first 
throes  of  the  transition  from  an  agricultural  to  a manufacturing  basis, 
offered  many  dark  pictures,  then  little  understood,  which  gave  rise  to 
gloomy  forebodings.  The  economic  wisdom  of  the  age  was  summed  up  in 
the  lugubrious  doctrines  of  Malthus,  who  held  that  population  must  ever 
increase  much  more  rapidly  than  the  means  of  subsistence.  Want,  famine, 
and  pestilence  would,  it  is  true,  carry  off  the  surplus,  but  the  survivors 
must,  many  of  them,  be  ever  on  the  edge  of  misery  and  wretchedness. 
The  great  mass  of  the  people  had  no  outlook  but  hard  toil  and  scanty  sub- 
sistence, with  no  prospect  of  lifting  themselves  be^^ond  the  satisfaction  of 
the  most  elementary  needs  of  existence. 

Far  off  to  the  west  lay  a new  countr3L  the  United  States,  rich  in  hope 
and  bright  with  promise  for  the  future,  but  too  small  as  yet,  too  poor  in 

45J 


462 


WEALTH  AND  WELFARE 


numbers,  and  too  distant  from  Europe  to  be  an  important  factor  in  the 
world’s  affairs. 

Happily  for  mankind,  the  clouds  which  seemed  to  hover  over  it  a hun- 
dred years  ago  have  been  dispelled.  The  rich  and  varied  history  of  our 
century  has  unrolled  a picture  of  progress  unrivaled  in  the  world’s  life.  So 
far  from  the  pinch  of  poverty  keeping  the  nations  down  to  slow  and  painful 
progress,  they  have  grown  in  numbers  in  the  Western  world  far  beyond 
anything  known  before,  and  each  addition  of  numbers  has  seemed  to  be  an 
added  strength.  The  following  figures  of  the  state  of  the  population  in 
i8oi  and  1891  do  not  show  the  expected  lack  of  vitality  which  the  wise- 
acres of  a century  ago  foresaw : 


Russia  in  Europe,  .... 

France, 

Germany, 

Austria-Hungai}',  .... 

Italy, 

Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 

Spain, . 

United  States, 


1801. 

1891. 

40,000,000 

93,703,331 

26,800,000 

38,218,903 

25,000,000 

49,424,135 

25,000,000 

41,284,966 

17,500,000 

30,158,408 

16,300,000 

37,888,152 

6,000,000 

17,246,688 

5,308,483 

62,622,250 

Nor  do  these  figures  tell  the  whole  story,  which  to  be  complete  should 
recount  the  rise  to  an  important  place  of  Brazil,  the  Argentine  Confedera- 
tion, Australia,  South  Africa,  Siberia,  and  other  regions. 

Such  an  increase  in  the  number  of  civilized  peoples  is  indeed  marvel- 
ous, but  does  it  betoken  an  increase  in  civilization  ? Putting  our  answer 
into  terms  of  fundamental  principles,  we  may  add  to  Malthus’s  original 
proposition,  that  the  means  of  subsistence  may  increase  as  rapidly  as  the 
population,  or  at  an  even  faster  pace.  We  cannot  wonder  that  Malthus 
could  not  foresee  such  an  event.  A hard-headed,  practical  thinker,  he  was 
no  prophet,  and  it  surely  would  have  required  the  vision  of  a seer,  in  an  age 
when  steam  had  not  been  applied  to  locomotion,  and  when  electricity  was 
the  plaything  of  a few  scientific  observers,  to  have  imagined  the  transfor- 
mations in  the  life  of  the  people  which  the  nineteenth  century  was  to  bring 
forth. 

We  cannot  follow  step  by  step  the  processes  by  which  this  transforma- 
tion has  been  brought  about.  It  is  enough  to  look  at  its  effects.  The  increase 
in  the  means  of  subsistence  has  taken  place  through  the  opening  up  of  new 
regions  to  the  world’s  market.  A century  ago  there  were  no  nations  which 
imported  food  except  a few  products  of  the  tropics,  which  were  deemed  to  be 
luxuries.  But  at  the  end  of  the  century  we  find  Europe  drawing  largely 


WEALTH  AND  WELFARE 


453 


iipon  the  resources  of  the  United  States,  of  South  America,  of  India,  and  of 
Australia.  A century  ago  England  wrung  the  food  from  her  people  from 
her  own  soil,  while  to-day  she  la3^s  the  whole  earth  under  contribution. 
German}^,  Belgium,  and  Holland,  and  in  a less  degree  France,  are  in  a like 
situation.  The  newer  regions  of  the  earth’s  surface,  where  land  is  cheap 
and  abundant,  can  raise  meat  and  grain  more  readily  than  the  old,  and 
thanks  to  modern  methods  of  transportation  are  not  cut  off  as  they  used  to 
be  from  the  world’s  markets.  This  means  that  under  modern  conditions 
products  are  raised  in  the  regions  which  are  best  fitted  for  their  growth,  and 
this  means  not  onl}"  a different  distribution  of  products,  but  an  increase  in 
the  aggregate  amount.  It  is  this  economy  in  production  more  than  any- 
thing else  which  has  swelled  the  total  of  the  earth’s  products,  and  provided 
a constantly  growing  sum  of  wealth  to  be  divided  among  the  inhabitants 
thereof. 

If  food  were  our  only  need,  the  development  of  these  new  countries 
must  have  drawn  the  people  to  them  and  led  them  to  desert  the  regions  of 
Europe  which  were  incapable  of  feeding  their  peoples.  In  other  words, 
without  an  internal  development  quite  as  striking  as  this  growth  of 
foreign  trade,  population  and  wealth  must  have  languished  and  declined  in 
the  older  countries.  This  internal  development  has  been  an  industrial  one, 
based  on  the  utilization  of  natural  resources  which  in  the  agricultural 
period  had  lain  dormant.  It  may  be  true  that  in  1800  England  raised 
enough  wheat  to  supply  her  own  people,  but  she  mined  only  10,000,000 
tons  of  coal.  And  if  to-day  she  must  needs  import  some  of  her  food, 
she  produces  annually  nearly  200,000,000  tons  of  coal,  the  basis  of  her 
leadership  in  manufacturing.  Germany,  her  great  industrial  competitor, 
which,  particular!}^  of  late  years,  has  been  growing  more  dependent  upon 
foreign  sources  of  food  supply,  increased  her  coal  product  from  35,000,000 
tons  in  1870  to  nearly  90,000,000  tons  in  1890. 

Since  the  steamship,  the  railroad,  and  the  telegraph  have  made  the 
whole  world  practically  one,  there  has  been  a far  nicer  adjustment  of  the 
world’s  activity  in  producing  the  necessities  of  life  to  the  advantages  for 
production  of  each  part  of  the  earth’s  surface  than  ever  before.  The  result 
has  been  an  enormous  increase  in  the  output,  which  has  progressed  far  more 
rapidly  than  the  advance  in  numbers,  and  has,  therefore,  brought  about 
greater  wealth  and  greater  comfort  for  the  individual. 

Estimates  of  national  wealth  are  prove rbiall}^  inaccurate,  and  to  attempt 
to  fortify  an  observation,  generally  accepted,  by  a resort  to  questionable 
proof  would  add  little  to  the  strength  of  our  contentions.  The  evidence  of 


454 


WEALTH  AND  WELFARE 


growing  wealth  is  almost  as  widespread  as  our  civilization  itself.  It  finds 
expression  in  a hundred  wa3^s  which  elude  exact  expression,  but  which  are 
none  the  less  obvious  to  all  observers.  In  the  year  1800,  for  instance,  the 
United  States  Government  drew  from  the  people  by  strenuous  effort  $10,- 
848,749,  or  $2.05  per  head,  whereas  in  1890  a revenue  of  $403,080,982,  or 
$6.46  per  head,  was  raised  without  difficult}^  We  see  the  signs  of  greater 
abundance  in  the  streets  of  our  cities,  in  the  homes  of  our  people,  in  the 
growth  of  savings-bank  deposits,  in  the  increase  of  schools  and  churches,  in 
the  growth  of  books,  magazines,  and  newspapers. 

But  all  this  may  be  conceded  and  yet  we  find,  as  in  the  da3"s  of  Holy 
Writ,  ‘Hhat  the  poor  are  always  with  ns.”  There  are  not  lacking  those 
who  insist  that  the  progress  of  the  nineteenth  centur}^  has  inured  exclu- 
sively to  the  benefit  of  privileged  classes,  that  the  ‘‘  poor  are  growing  poorer.” 
Of  this  there  is  absolutely  no  evidence.  Whatever  ma3"  have  been  onr  prog- 
ress, all  have  shared  in  it  to  some  extent.  Nothing  is  more  firnil}^  established 
in  all  the  leading  countries  of  the  modern  world  than  that  wages  have  in- 
creased during  the  latter  half  of  our  centuiy,  and  that  prices  have  so 
changed  as  to  give  the  wage  receiver  the  full  benefit  of  his  increased  wages^ 
and  oftentimes  a greater  one.  Measuring  wages  in  terms  of  commodities, 
it  appears  b}-  an  investigation  in  Massachusetts  that  in  1872  wages  pur- 
chased twent3r-four  per  cent,  more  goods,  and  in  1897  ninety-five  per  cent, 
more  goods,  than  the3^  did  in  1860.^  In  France,  it  is  computed  that  the 
wages  of  1840  were  01113^  fift3^-two  per  cent,  of  those  fift3"  3"ears  later.  In 
England  the  increased  purchasing  power  of  wages  in  1891  over  i860  was 
almost  identical  with  that  found  in  Massachusetts.  These  few  illustrations 
may  suffice  for  our  purpose.  Wherever  the  inquir3^  has  been  made  the 
result  is  the  same. 

If,  then,  the  least  favorabh^  situated  class  in  societ34  and  at  the  same 
time  the  most  nnmerons,  have  improved  their  condition  during  the  century, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  increase  of  wealth  which  has  marked  the 
century  has  inured  to  the  benefit  of  all.  It  would  carr3^  us  beyond  the 
scope  of  the  present  introduction  to  investigate,  if  such  an  inquiry  were 
possible  with  so  nian3^  indeterminate  elements  in  the  problem,  whether 
certain  social  classes  had  profited  more  than  others  b3^  the  increase  of  wealth. 
Our  purpose  has  been  attained  if  we  have  shown,  b3^  the  sharp  contrast 
between  the  narrow  and  limited  conditions  of  production  when  the  century 


* F.  S.  Kinder,  The  Effects  of  Recent  Changes  in  Monetary  Standards  upon  the  Distribution 
of  Wealth,  “ Economic  Studies,”  Vol.  VI,  page  483. 


WEALTH  AND  WELFARE 


455 


opened  and  tlie  world-wide  system  wliicli  now  prevails,  the  mode  in  which  the 
new  wealth  of  the  world  has  been  created  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  human 
race* 


In  addition  to  Professor  Faulkner’s  luminous  statement  of  the  salient 
economic  conditions  of  the  world  during  the  century,  it  seems  well  to  indi- 
cate a few  of  the  perplexing  problems  which  have  agitated  the  nations  and 
engaged  the  interest  of  the  student.  For  political  economy  has  many 
branches,  such  as  exchange,  money  interest,  rent,  labor,  capital,  wages, 
monopoly,  supply  and  demand,  international  trade,  etc.  Mr.  Henry  Mat- 
sen  makes  it  clear  that  the  subject  pertains  to  the  multifarious  interests  of 
the  daily  life  of  all  men,  and  has  a vital  relation  to  their  welfare.  Protec- 
tion as  applied  to  international  trade  is  a national  politico-economic  policy ; 
free  trade  is  a universal  economic  principle.  But  the  latter,  it  is  evident, 
may  also  be  a national  policy  ; that  is,  an  economic  policy  which  shall  be 
applicable  alike  to  all  nations.  The  aim  of  the  policy  of  protection  is  to 
foster  and  build  up  the  home  trade  by  the  restriction  of  the  foreign  trade. 
This  implies  that  the  foreign  trade  may  be,  in  some  respects,  opposed  to 
the  home  trade,  and  therefore  injurious  ; whereas  it  is  maintained,  on  the 
other  side,  that  it  is  promotive  of  the  home  trade,  and  a benefit,  and  that 
the  more  there  is  of  it  the  better  it  is  for  the  nation.  Here,  then,  is  found 
one  of  the  chief  points  of  difference  between  contending  parties.  The 
nature  and  influence  of  competition  come  into  the  contention.  Is  compe- 
tition with  foreign  trade  in  aii}^  case  an  evil  against  which  it  may  be  neces- 
sary to  guard?  The  impost  on  certain  foreign  articles  is  meant  for  the 
protection  of  home  producers  against  ruinous  foreign  competition.  But 
this,  it  is  charged,  is -class  legislation,  or  the  favoring  of  a few  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  nlan3^  On  the  contrary,  it  is  urged  that  the  encouraging  of 
a diversity  of  industries  is  in  the  interest  of  the  inaii}^,  and  conducive  to 
general  prosperity.  On  the  one  side,  it  is  alleged  that  a tariff  is  always 
necessarily  a tax  on  the  consumer,  since  it  raises  prices.  On  the  contrary, 
it  is  asserted  that  facts  show  that  under  a protective  tariff,  by  reason  of  its 
encouragement  of  home  industries,  prices  are  reduced  b}^  home  competition. 
It  is  said  that  free  trade  would  cheapen  labor  by  bringing  it  into  competi- 
tion with  the  cheap  labor  of  other  countries.  To  this  it  is  answered  that 
the  rate  of  wages  is  dependent  on  other  conditions  ; and  that  even  lower 
wages  would  not  be  an  evil,  if,  by  a proportionate  cheapening  of  com- 
modities, the  power  of  purchasing  is  not  diminished. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  view-point  of  the  two  parties  is  different^  that 


450 


WEALTH  AND  WELFARE 


of  the  one  being  a general  principle,  that  of  the  other  being  a national 
policy.  Hence,  writers  of  political  economy  are  almost  unanimous  in  their 
advocacy  of  free  trade,  while  nearly  all  governments  retain  some  form  oi 
degree  of  protection.  England  is  the  great  free  trade  nation. 

Money  serves  two  important  purposes — as  a standard  of  value  and  as 
a medium  of  exchange ; and  has,  in  these  respects,  a necessary  use  in  rep- 
resenting the  material  interests  of  life.  It  has  also  a higher  use,  but  this 
is  as  the  material  serves  tire  spiritual.  Hence  its  function,  in  its  right  use, 
is  of  great  practical  importance.  That  which  shall  be  fixed  upon  to  use  for 
money  must  possess  certain  properties  which  shall  fit  it  for  its  use.  These 
requisite  properties  the  precious  metals,  gold  and  silver,  possess  in  the 
highest  degree  ; and  of  the  two,  gold  possesses  them  in  a higher  degree 
than  silver.  The  question  of  bimetallism  and  monometallism  is  whether 
both  of  the  precious  metals  shall  be  used  as  money  in  its  full  sense ; that  is, 
for  a standard  of  value  as  well  as  for  a medium  of  exchange.  This  is  a 
question  the  significance  of  which  is  not  simply  national  or  local,  but  inter- 
national or  universal. 

The  questions  respecting  an  income  tax  involve  the  whole  subject  of 
taxation — its  nature,  conditions,  ends,  methods ; since  in  order  rightly  to 
estimate  its  advantages  and  disadvantages,  it  must  both  be  judged  on  general 
principles  and  compared  with  other  methods  of  taxation.  The  necessity  of 
taxation  is  implied  in  the  necessity  of  government.  It  is  the  necessary 
price  paid  by  the  individual  for  the  benefits  conferred  b}^  government.  Like 
the  administration  of  government  in  general,  it  has  in  it  an  element  of  com- 
pulsion ; and  this  is  more  manifest,  if  not  more  real,  in  direct  than  in  indi- 
rect taxation.  This  compulsion  is  the  assertion  of  the  supremacy  of  the 
government,  in  certain  respects,  over  the  individual,  and  appears  on  its  face 
as  an  abridgment  of  his  personal  freedom  ; while  the  important  benefits 
received  in  return,  by  which  not  only  his  protection  but  Ids  freedom  and 
development  are  secured,  are  not  always  duly  appreciated.  Yet  in  the 
whole  matter  of  taxation  there  are  difficulties  whose  practical  solution  is  far 
from  easy.  In  the  best  goverment,  the  most  wisely  administered,  an  ap- 
proximation to  a perfect  S3^stem  of  taxation  is  all  that  can  be  hoped  for. 
The  theory  of  the  tax  requires  that  it  be  levied  on  propert}^  not  only  be- 
cause this  has  the  protection  of  government,  but  also  because  it  implies  an 
ability  to  pa}^  especiall}^  if  it  be  productive.  But  just  government  will  aim 
not  onl}^  to  raise  a sufficient  revenue,  but  to  do  it  by  an  assessment  that  shall 
be  equitable;  that  is,  that  shall  be  proportional  to  the  ability  of  its  citizens 
severally. 


WEALTH  AND  WELT  ARE 


457 


In  its  theory  the  system  of  the  late  Henry  George  is  radical,  and  in  its 
practical  working  revolutionary.  Its  foundation  is  the  alleged  fact  that 
material  progress,  far  from  abating,  increases  poverty.  Yet  this  is  rather 
assumed  than  proved,  and  is  one  of  the  chief  points  in  dispute.  The  system 
reasoned  out  from  this  as  a starting  point  is  in  form  economic,  while  in 
spirit  and  aim  it  is  sociological.  Its  practical  aim  is  the  righting  of  wrongs, 
the  restoration  of  equality,  and  the  promotion  of  universal  prosperity.  The 
wrong  which  is  regarded  as  the  prolific  source  of  all  social  wrongs  is  the 
holding  of  land  as  private  property ; and  the  single  tax  on  land  values  is 
proposed  as  the  certain  panacea  for  the  manifold  human  ills.  It  will  be  seen 
that  the  system  is  not  merely  theoretic,  but  moral ; hence  it  is  both  advo- 
cated and  attacked  on  moral  as  well  as  on  scientific  grounds.  It  is  a certain 
evangel  for  the  poor ; whether  true  or  false  must  be  determined  by  its  proof. 
Its  proof  is  chiefly  where  its  author  places  it,  in  the  principles  of  political 
economy  with  respect  to  labor,  wages,  rents,  etc.  It  is  a well-linked  system, 
with  promises,  arguments,  and  conclusions,  all  together  making  a whole 
with  a certain  unity. 

To  most  persons  the  word  “ monopoly  ” has  an  ill  sound,  as  denoting 
that  which  is  exclusive  and  partial.  Yet  it  stands  for  a principle  belonging 
to  human  nature  and  to  the  nature  of  things  which  has  a legitimate  and 
necessary  place  in  society.  In  itself,  therefore,  properly  limited  and  kept 
in  its  place,  and  directed  to  its  legitimate  end,  it  is  not  evil,  but  good.  But 
of  most  monopolies  it  may  doubtless  be  said  that,  if  good,  they  are  also 
evil ; and  the  question  is,  whether  monopolies  as  they  exist,  taken  in  the 
aggregate,  and  considering  human  nature  as  it  is,  are,  to  the  general  public, 
rather  a good  than  an  evil.  In  discussing  this  question  monopoly  must  be 
considered  in  connection  with  its  antagonistic  principle,  competition.  In 
the  general  econoni}^  of  society  each  has  its  place  ; and,  in  some  sense 
and  degree,  each  may  be  a check  upon  and  a corrective  of  the  other.  Ex- 
cessive competition  may  sometimes  produce  a reaction  which  shall  result  in 
monopolies,  while  the  greed  of  monopolies  may  be  moderated  and  restrained 
by  the  fear  of  possible  competition.  Competition  itself  is  a striving  against 
others  for  an  advantage,  which,  in  its  perfection,  would  be  a monopoly.  If 
the  two  exist  together  in  their  entirety,  it  cannot  be  in  respect  to  the  same 
thing  ; for  strictly  monopoly,  as  far  as  it  goes,  kills  competition. 

Since  trusts  are  combinations  of  corporations,  con'stituting  large  and 
powerful  monopolies,  the  general  remarks  made  on  monopolies  will  apph’ 
especially  to  them.  Trusts  should,  however,  be  considered  in  respect  to 
their  peculiar  nature,  their  relation  to  the  public,  and  their  general  influence. 


WEALTH  AND  WELFARE 


458 


THat  is,  they  should  be  considered  not  only  on  general  principles,  but  alsci 
in  respect  to  the  facts  which  concern  their  nature,  working,  and  influence 
The  aim  is  to  control  production,  the  markets,  and  prices.  This  is  done  by 
swallowing  up  or  crushing  all  competitors,  resulting  in  the  complete  appro- 
priation  of  some  form  of  industry.  Competition  is  thus  rendered  impotent 
and  null,  and  whatever  advantages  it  may  have  afforded  are  lost. 

During  the  century  the  principle  of  industrial  co-operation  was  brought 
before  the  public  in  many  practical  experiments.  It  has  been  put  forward 
more  as  a fact  than  as  a theory.  It  is  an  idea  or  theory  practically  exem- 
plified in  numberless  instances.  It  might  seem  that  co-operation,  as  the 
union  of  many  for  the  attainment  of  one  object,  would,  from  its  very  nature, 
contribute  to  success.  But,  like  democracy  in  government,  it  may  have  its 
difficulties.  For  “ co-operation  is  democracy  in  business,”  and  its  success 
will  depend  on  the  fitness  of  those  engaged  in  it  to  co-operate,  and  to  fulfill 
the  conditions  of  success.  Much  will  depend  on  the  manager  and  hence 
much  on  the  wisdom  exercised  in  his  choice.  Co-operation  has  thus  far 
been  more  successful  in  distribution  than  in  production,  showing  that  it  is 
more  easily  applied  in  the  one  case  than  in  the  other.  It  is  a laborers’ 
movement,  having  for  its  primary  aim  a pecuniary  benefit  in  the  union  of 
capital  and  labor,  but  accompanied  also  with  important  incidental  results  in 
the  form  of  social  and  moral  improvement.  The  aim  is  to  gain  the  bene- 
fits of  association  without  the  sacrifice  of  individuality. 

The  term  “ trades  unions  ” is  commonly  used  to  embrace  associations  of 
laborers,  who  have  united  for  mutual  benefit  and  protection.  As  mutual 
aid  societies  they  are  legitimate  and  beneficent ; and  this  point,  therefore,  is 
wholly  in  their  favor.  It  is  in  the  relation  of  the  laborer  to  the  employer 
that  the  character  and  doings  of  labor  organizations  come  in  question.  This 
relation  is  actually  and  avowedly  one  of  antagonism ; hence  the  chief  aim 
of  trades  unions  is  to  protect  its  members  from  the  wrongs  which  are  or  may 
be  inflicted  on  them  by  their  employers. 

Strikes  have  a close  connection  with  trades  unions.  They  are  the  means 
emplo^^ed  by  trades  unions  to  enforce  their  demand  of  some  benefit  for  their 
members,  which,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  is  either  an  increase  of 
w-ages  or  the  prevention  of  a threatened  decrease.  A strike  is  a rupture  of 
the  outward  harmony  and  a disclosure  of  the  real  antagonism  between  the 
employer  and  the  employed.  It  is  a revolt  of  the  workmen,  resulting  in 
open  war.  It  is  a contest  waged  for  victory,  and  in  a majority  of  cases  the 
workmen  have  suffered  defeat.  The  general  end  of  strikes,  concealed  under 
any  particular  end,  is  the  independence  of  the  laborers,  so  that  they  shall  be 


FAMOUS  AMERICAN  STATESMEN  OF  THE  LAST  HALF  OF  THE 

ninp:teenth  century. 

Alexander  H.  Stephens,  born  in  1812;  died  in  188.'}.  Cushman  K.  Davis,  horn  in  1838. 

James  G.  Blaine,  horn  in  1830;  died  in  1893.  Walter  Gresham,  born  in  1832. 

Salmon  P.  Chase,  born  in  1808;  died  in  1873.  John  Sherman,  born  1823. 

William  H.  Seward,  born  in  1801  ; died  in  1872. 


f 


The  new  Congressional  Library  Building,  recently  completed  in  Washington,  is  a triumph  of  American  genius.  It  is  of  New  Hampshire  granite,  and  stands  on  the  eastern 
heights  of  the  city,  opposite  the  east  front  of  the  Capitol.  The  immense  structure  covers  nearly  four  acres,  and  within  its  enormous  interior  is  room  for  twice  as  many  books  as  are 
contained  in  the  largest  lilirary  in  the  world.  The  cost  was  limited  to  iffi, 000,000,  and  none  but  American  artists  were  employed  to  decorate  its  walls.  The  Congressional  Library 
contains  about  700, 00<)  volumes,  and  ranks  fifth  among  the  great  lit>raries  of  the  world. 


WEALTH  AND  WELFARE 


459 


treated  in  no  sense  or  degree  as  slaves,  but  as  men  having  rights  which 
make  them  the  equal  of  their  employers,  and  which  give  them  the  control 
of  themselves  and  of  their  labor. 

The  wonderful  material  progress  of  modern  times  is  largely  due  to  the 
invention  and  general  use  of  machinery.  The  cheapening  of  production, 
together  with  its  great  increase,  produced  by  the  use  of  machinery,  has 
brought  about  a general  augmentation  of  material  comfort,  and  in  this,  la- 
borers, as  a class,  have  shared.  But  here  emerges  a question  : The  im- 
mense economic  force  introduced  by  machinery  is  held  and  controlled  by 
capitalists  in  their  own  interest,  for  the  increase  of  their  wealth  and  power. 
The  laborers  are  still  laborers,  while  their  masters  have  grown  greatly  in 
power.  Is  the  inequality,  then,  between  these  classes  rather  increased  than 
lessened  ? On  the  other  hand,  are  the  good  effects  of  the  use  of  machinery, 
as  already  intimated,  universal,  reaching  all  classes — so  that,  as  some  have 
claimed,  it  is  in  its  influence  democratic,  in  that  it  is  gradually  lifting  the 
lower  classes  upward  toward  the  higher  ? 


CHAPTER  XLIV 


THE  PHILIPPINES 

[By  HON.  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW,  U.  S.  Senator] 

WE  are  in  the  Philippines ; we  are  there  to  stay  by  conquest  and 
by  treaty  rights.  All  which  preceded  the  ratification  of  the  treaty 
by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  was  an  academic  question. 
Still  the  presentation  of  this  ancient  history,  for  the  rapid  progress  of 
events  makes  history  speedily  ancient,  occupied  so  much  of  the  time  of  the 
Senate  that  it  is  well  briefly  to  review  the  situation, 

I have  heard  no  one  dispute  the  righteousness  of  our  war  with  Spain. 
The  contention  is  that,  it  having  been  undertaken  with  the  avowed  purpose, 
and  that  only,  of  freeing  Cuba  from  intolerable  oppression,  the  forces  of  the 
United  States  should  have  been  concentrated  in  and  about  the  island,  and 
when  the  Spaniards  were  expelled  our  country  should  have  confined  its 
efforts  to  the  establishment  of  Cuban  independence.  The  most  merciful 
way  to  prosecute  war,  the  surest  method  of  speedily  enforcing  peace,  is  to 
strike  the  enemy  wherever  he  may  be  weak  and  vulnerable.  To  have  per. 
mitted  Spain  ports  for  her  fleet  and  freedom  of  the  seas  and  the  ability  to 
concentrate  all  her  efforts  in  Cuba  would  have  been  the  madness  of  senti- 
ment and  criminal  folly.  By  capturing  Puerto  Rico  we  closed  the  harbors 
where  fleets  of  Spain  could  go,  outside  of  Cuba,  and  cut  off  her  sources  of 
supply.  By  threatening  with  a fl^dng  squadron  the  coasts  of  Spain  we 
kept  troops  within  her  home  fortifications  and  ships  within  her  own  harbors. 
The  wisest  of  the  many  wise  orders  issued  during  the  war  was  that  to 
Admiral  Dewey  when  at  Hong  Kong:  “ Find  the  Spanish  fleet  and  destroy 
it.”  The  destruction  of  that  fleet  ended  the  power  of  Spain  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  By  the  destruction  of  that  fleet  and  the  landing  of  our  troops  and 
the  surrender  of  Alanila  the  United  vStates  stood  as  a conqueror  upon  the 
enemy’s  soil.  When  the  vSpanish  flag  Avent  doAvn  from  the  citadel  and  the 
460 


THE  PHILIPPINES 


American  flag  flew  from  its  flagstafl*,  tlie  three  hundred  years  of  Spanish 
dominion  ended  and  tlie  American  occupation  began.  At  this  point  we 
hear  of  the  alleged  Filipino  republic  and  the  alleged  assault  upon  it  by  the 
United  States.  That  Dewey,  that  Merritt,  that  Anderson  used  the  natives 
for  the  purpose  of  fighting  Spain  no  one  denies.  It  was  within  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  commanding  generals  to  utilize  the  enemies  of  Spain  in  such 
manner  as  in  their  judgment  would  best  cripple  the  enemy.  When  Dewey^ 
before  sailing  from  Hongkong,  sent  the  commander  of  the  “ Petrel  to 
Aguinaldo  to  secure  his  services,  Aguinaldo  refused,  saying  that  he  had  sold 
out,  had  taken  Spain’s  money,  and  was  under  obligation  not  to  fight  her  an}^ 
more ; and  it  was  not  until  after  the  battle  of  Manila  that  he  concluded  to 
go  back  on  his  bargain. 

I think  it  will  be  admitted  that  there  was  in  the  far  East  no  one  who 
could  bind  our  Government  to  treaty  obligations.  There  has  been  read  here 
a mass  of  serenade  speeches  and  banquet  addresses,  and  letters  from  consu- 
lar agents  of  this  country  in  China  and  the  Philippines.  A consul  has  no 
diplomatic  authority.  His  commission  covers  only  commercial  questions  in 
the  port  where  he  resides.  In  the  imperfections,  which  are  still  many,  in 
our  consular  service  these  positions  are  held  in  many  places  by  foreigners 
who  do  not  understand  our  institutions,  who  receive  no  salary  that  would 
tempt  an  American  to  take  the  place,  and  yet  who  occupy  and  administer 
important  functions  as  the  commercial  agents  of  the  republic.  Treaties 
involving  recognition  of  governments  and  cessions  of  territories  are  not 
made  by  unauthorized  persons  in  the  enthusiasm  of  moonlight  serenades  or 
in  the  fervor  of  banquet  addresses. 

Only  the  President  of  the  United  States  could  bind  the  countr}^,  and  he 
only  with  the  subsequent  assent  of  the  Senate.  Only  when  war  is  progress- 
ing can  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  or  the  Admiral  of  the  Navy 
make  a committal  which  the  President  would  be  bound  in  aii}^  form  to  con- 
sider or  respect.  Admiral  Dewey  alone  had  that  power,  and  he  most  em- 
phatically denied  any  committal  whatever  to  Aguinaldo  for  the  independence 
of  his  so-called  government.  President  Schurnian  also  emphaticall}'  denied 
any  committal  on  the  subject  on  the  part  of  the  Philippine  Commission. 
The  various  generals  of  the  army  made  no  committals  on  their  part.  All 
the  consuls  concerned  positively  denied  having  made  any  such  suggestions. 
The  instant  that  there  was  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  President  and  the 
State  Department  a statement  that  unauthorized  persons,  holding  commis- 
sions from  the  United  States  for  another  purpose,  had  made  aii}^  such  sug- 
gestions, they  were  immediately  and  authoritatively  repudiated. 


THE  PHILIPPINES 


4G2 


The  alleged  government  called  here  the  de  facto  government  of  Agui- 
naldo  rested  upon  an  equally  flimsy  basis.  Spain  had  held  these  islands, 
with  a slight  interruption,  when  seized  by  Great  Britain,  for  three  hundred 
years.  Her  sovereignty  over  them  had  been  recognized  by  all  the  Powers 
of  Europe.  Her  bad  government  produced  frequent  insurrections,  which 
were  always  suppressed  and  always  local  to  one  island  or  to  a part  of  an 
island.  Sometimes  these  insurrections  were  stirred  up  and  promoted  by 
the  Captain-General  and  Spanish  officials  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the 
larger  appropriations  and  the  greater  expenditures  which  war  would  permit, 
and  in  order  to  exercise  the  powers  of  martial  law  for  robbery  and  the  con- 
fiscation of  rebel  property. 

Aguinaldo  headed  one  of  these  insurrections  and  formed  a reyolution- 
ary  government,  which,  however,  existed  only  on  paper  and  governed  noth- 
ing but  the  camp  which  he  had  in  the  mountains  at  Biac  Na  Bato.  After 
continuing  a desultory  and  mainly  guerrilla  warfare  for  months,  he  finally 
opened  negotiations  with  the  Spanish  authorities,  and  sold  his  government 
to  Spain  for  $800,000,  of  which  $400,000  was  paid  down.  So  that  at  the 
time  that  Spain  ceded  the  Philippine  Islands  to  the  United  States  b}^  treaty 
she  had  as  her  title  the  sovereignty  of  three  hundred  years,  and  had  re- 
moved the  cloud  upon  her  title  by  buying  the  claims  of  Aguinaldo’s  govern- 
ment. The  transaction  stands  unique  in  the  histor}"  of  governments,  if 
Aguinaldo’s  authority  constituted  a government.  It  is  the  first  time  in  an- 
cient or  modern  days  when  a Power  claiming  sovereignty,  asking  for  recog- 
nition from  foreign  states,  for  a valuable  consideration,  which  was  agreed 
to,  gave  a quit-claim  of  all  its  rights,  its  properties,  and  its  powers. 

When  Dewey  was  leaving  Hongkong,  Prince  Henry  of  Prussia,  in  com- 
mand of  the  German  fleet  in  the  East,  said,  “ Good-by,  Commodore,  I fear 
I shall  never  see  you  again.  You  are  going  on  a desperate  undertaking.” 
This  sentiment  was  the  opinion  of  the  admirals  of  the  various  European 
squadrons,  and,  through  them,  of  the  Orientals.  The  Asiatics  had  heard  of 
the  great  republic  the  other  side  of  the  world,  but  had  seen  no  evidence 
of  its  power.  The  destruction  of  the  Spanish  fleet  in  the  harbor  of  Ma- 
nila, the  silencing  of  the  guns  of  the  forts,  and  the  landing  of  an  Amer- 
can  army  ended  the  prestige  and  power  of  Spain  in  the  archipelago.  The 
Filipinos,  released  from  fear  of  punishment  and  smarting  under  wrongs 
present  and  hereditary,  would  have  flocked  to  the  standard  of  General  Mer- 
rett  as  readily  as  they  did  to  that  of  Aguinaldo,  had  such  a course  seemed 
best.  The  victorious  fleet  and  conquering  army  of  the  United  States 
created  Aguinaldo’s  forces 


HON.  CHAUNCEY  M.  DEPEW, 

Pnited  States  Senator, 

Contributes  tlie  chapter  in  this  volume  on  “ The  Philippines. 


Coityright,  1898,  M.  F.  Tobin. 

BATTLE  OF  MANILA  RAY. 

The  battle  of  Manila  Bay,  fought  May  1,  1898,  was  one  of  the  most  wonderful  in  all  history.  On  tliat  day,  Commodore  Oeorge  Dewey,  in  eommand  of  four  eruisers  and  two  gunnoats, 
steamed  into  the  harbor  of  Manila  and  attacked  tne  Spanish  fleet,  consisting  of  eleven  warships,  destroyed  them  all,  with  a heavy  loss  of  life,  and  without  the  death  of  a single  man  on  the 
Anaericau  squadron.  Even  the  marvelous  skill  of  our  gunners  and  their  matchless  bravery  are  hardly  suffjcieot  to  explain  fully  this  unparalleled  victory. 


THE  PHILIPPINES 


463 


But  for  our  demonstrated  power  appealing  so  dramatically  to  the 
Eastern  imagination,  Aguinaldo  would  have  remained  reveling  in  Hong- 
kong and  his  followers  humbly  subservient  to  the  rule  of  Spain.  The 
signing  of  the  terms  of  peace  and  the  surrender  of  Manila  to  our  naval 
and  laud  forces  occurred  at  the  same  moment  of  time.  Dewey  and 
Merritt  refused  to  permit  the  troops  of  Aguinaldo  to  enter  and  loot  the  city, 
and  forced  them  to  withdraw  to  a safe  distance.  The  peace  treaty,  guaran- 
teeing the  rights  of  property  in  the  island  by  the  United  States,  dissipated 
the  hopes  and  dreams  of  the  Filipino  leaders  of  division  and  enjoyment  of 
the  confiscated  property  of  the  religious  societies,  the  wealth  of  the  church, 
and  the  riches  of  the  Spanish  residents. 

Then,  and  not  until  then,  did  Aguinaldo  and  his  party  become  insur- 
rectionists against  the  authority  of  the  United  States;  then,  inflaming  an 
ignorant  population  with  lies  about  the  Government  and  purposes  of  this 
country,  he  received  the  support  which  has  required  a large  army  to  sup- 
press. This  people  had  been  cheated  and  robbed  of  their  rights  for  cen- 
turies. They  had  never  known  the  blessings  of  liberty  and  law,  nor  what 
they  mean.  It  was  easy  for  the  rebel  chiefs  to  make  them  believe  that  we 
came  to  plunder  and  oppress.  We  now  understand  why  they  said  : “ Better 
the  Spaniard  than  the  American.”  It  is  only  when  peace  and  order  are  es- 
tablished in  the  islands  that  we  will  gain  both  their  confidence  and  their 
gratitude  by  a government  which  will  guarantee  law  and  liberty,  civil  and 
religious,  and  promote  their  progress  and  prosperity. 

Territorially,  constitutionall}^  and  by  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court  the  United  States  have  been  expanding  for  nearly  a century.  At 
the  close  of  the  administration  of  Washington  our  country  was  bounded  by 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  Ohio  River.  England  on  the  north,  and  Spain 
and  France  south  and  west,  blocked  the  possibilities  of  development  and 
commercial  power.  Jefferson  was  the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, of  the  strict-construction  theory  of  the  Constitution,  and  of  the 
extreme  doctrine  of  State  rights.  He  is  claimed  by  the  anti-expansion  party 
to-day  as  their  example  and  guide.  He  saw  that  the  West  must  have  an 
outlet  or  the  fairest  portion  of  our  countr}^  remain  a wilderness.  He  opened 
negotiations  with  Napoleon  for  a harbor  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  and 
transit  over  its  waters. 

Bonaparte  had  received  the  vast  territory  called  Louisiana  from  Spain 
fora  gift  to  a Bourbon  prince  of  the  right  to  rule  a petty  principality.  He 
saw  he  could  not  hold  his  acquisition  against  the  power  of  Great  Britain  on 
the  ocean,  and  astonished  the  American  envoys  by  offering  to  sell  the  entire 


464 


THE  PHILIPPINES 


territory.  It  extended  from  the  Gulf  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the 
Pacific,  and  is  the  seat  to-day  of  a large  part  of  the  wealth,  population, 
and  political  strength  of  the  republic.  Jefferson  saw  immediately  a mean- 
ing and  a sovereignty  in  the  Constitution  which  opened  his  mind  almost  as 
was  that  of  Paul  on  his  journey  to  Damascus.  He  eagerly  said,  We 
will,’’  to  the  remark  of  Talleyrand,  Napoleon’s  famous  minister,  ‘‘  Why  not 
take  it  all  ?”  and  for  $15,000,000  the  inhabitants,  French,  Spanish,  and 
Indian,  and  the  territory  became  ours. 

Monroe  followed  Jefferson’s  example,  and  in  1819  bought  Florida  from 
Spain  for  $5,000,000,  and  Pierce  Arizona  from  Mexico  for  $10,000,000,. 
while  Seward  secured  Alaska  from  Russia  for  $7,000,000.  Texas  came 
in  by  annexation,  and  we  claimed  and  Great  Britain  yielded  Oregon  to  be 
ours  by  right  of  discovery,  because  an  adventurous  Yankee  skipper  had 
explored  the  Columbia  River.  Mexico  lay  at  our  feet,  crushed  and  bleed- 
ing, after  the  war,  but  by  the  treaty  of  peace  we  gave  her  $15,000,000 
for  California  and  New  Mexico,  and  assumed  the  debt  of  $3,500,000  which 
she  owed  to  xAinerican  citizens.  Under  the  same  broad,  generous,  and  wise 
policy  of  dealing  with  defeated  enemies,  in  confirming  the  title  we  had  by 
conquest  to  the  Philippines,  we  have  conceded  to  Spain  for  her  rights  and 
sovereignty  $20,000,000. 

Constitutional  objection  and  indiscriminate  abuse  preceded,  attended, 
and  followed  each  of  these  acquisitions.  The  grim  specter  of  the  ruined 
republic  was  each  time  dragged  out  from  the  stage  properties  of  the  spec- 
tacular drama  of  despair,  only  to  be  laughed  back  into  its  crypt  by  pros- 
perity, population,  thriving  industries,  mutual  benefits  to  the  old  and  new 
States,  and  the  blessings  of  American  law  and  liberty  impressing  the 
people  with  the  wisdom  of  the  expansion.  There  have  been  tyrants  and 
usurpers,  if  President  McKinley  is  one,  doing  these  same  things  in  the  past 
as  he  has  done,  and  they  are  Thomas  Jefferson,  James  Monroe,  James  K. 
Polk,  and  Franklin  Pierce. 

Our  country  on  this  continent,  and  without  including  the  Spanish 
islands,  numbers  3,692,125  square  miles.  Washington  governed  a republic 
of  1,378,981  square  miles,  and  2,313,144  have  been  added  from  the  close  of 
his  administration  to  the  beginning  of  President  McKinley’s. 

The  United  States  has  a domain  with  nearh^  three  times  greater  area 
than  it  possessed  when  it  became  a nation,  and  stands  original  and  alone  in 
the  beneficent  processes  of  its  growth.  Its  authority  has  been  extended 
over  new  lands  covering  an  area  as  large  as  two-thirds  of  the  continent  of 
Europe,  at  a mere  trifle  of  the  cost  to  Frederick  the  Great  of  the  province  of 


THE  PHILIPPINES 


465 


Silesia  or  to  France  of  tlie  narrow  limits  of  Savoy.  For  ninety-seven  years 
we  have,  in  the  exercise  of  that  sovereign  pow’er  which  is  inherent  in  na- 
tions, gained  property  by  all  the  processes  known  to  government,  but  ■‘we 
have  waged  no  war  for  conquest  or  subjugation.  We  have  treated  our 
defeated  enemies  wdth  unusual  merc}^  and  consideration.  Whether  our 
territories  have  come  b}^  conquest  and  treaty,  by  purchase,  annexation,  or 
discovery,  the  people.  Congress,  and  the  country  are  unanimous  in  the 
affirmation  of  our  title.  The  time  will  be  brief  until  by  similar  unanimity 
Porto  Rico  and  Hawaii,  Guam  and  the  Philippines,  are  held  to  be  equally 
and  sacredly  territory  of  the  United  States. 

Maii}^  honest  minds  have  been  confused  by  the  supposed  application  of 
the  consent  of  the  governed  to  the  government  which  Congress  provides 
for  new^  territories  or  colonies,  and  that  it  is  impossible  to  rule  them  except 
by  the  usual  territorial  process  until  by  right  they  are  admitted  into  the 
Union  as  States.  Here  again  a study  of  the  past  removes  these  difficulties. 
Jefferson  was  the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  that  is  the 
one  act  which  he  directed  should  be  engraved  upon  his  tomb.  He  certainly 
knew  the  breadth  and  limitations  of  its  axioms.  The  government  which  he 
organized  for  the  Territory  of  Louisiana  had  every  element  which  has  been 
denounced  as  despotism  in  the  Philippines. 

The  act  of  October  31,  1803,  passed  b}^  Congress  and  signed  by  Jeffer- 
son, vested — “ All  military,  civil,  and  judicial  powers  in  such  person  or  per- 
sons and  to  be  exercised  in  such  manner  as  the  President  of  the  United 
States  should  direct.  ” 

There  was  no  consultation  with  the  inhabitants,  no  participation  in 
their  government  accorded  them,  and  no  rights  assured  to  them  except 
The  free  enjoyment  of  their  liberty,  property,  and  religion.”  It  is  no 
answer  to  this  precedent  to  say  that  because  there  were  only  30,000  wdiite 
people  in  the  Territoiy,  it  was  unnecessary  to  gain  their  consent.  The 
constitutional  rights  of  30,000  are  as  precious  and  as  sacred  as  the  rights  of 
30,000,000.  From  1803,  when  this  colonial  and  imperial  government  was 
imposed  upon  Louisiana,  until  1819,  when  Florida  was  conquered,  purchased, 
and  ceded  by  Spain,  was  ample  time  in  which  to  discover  a vital  blow  at  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  and  a deadly  assault  upon  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States. 

Sixteen  years  of  legislative  action,  judicial  examination  and  decision, 
and  popular  discussion  had  intervened  since  Jefferson’s  arbitrary  govern- 
ment had  been  imposed  on  Louisiana ; but  again,  and  in  the  same  terms, 
did  Congress,  March  3,  1819,  pass  and  President  Monroe  approve  an  act  for 


466 


THE  PHILIPPINES 


the  government  of  Florida,  vesting — ‘‘  All  civil,  military,  and  judicial  powers 
in  such  person  or  persons  and  to  be  exercised  in  such  manner  as  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  shall  direct.” 

When  this  pure  colonial  and  unrepresentative  government  was  ex- 
tended over  Florida  that  territory  was  not  a wilderness.  It  had  been 
settled  for  two  hundred  and  nine  years,  and,  in  addition  to  its  Spanish, 
French,  and  English  inhabitants,  had  several  flourishing  American 
settlements. 

From  1798  down  to  1849  statesmen  and  jurists  whose  names  and 
fame  are  our  most  precious  heritage  framed  governments  for  Mississippi,  In- 
diana, Louisiana,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Florida, 
Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Oregon,  and  Minnesota.  Some  of  these  Territories  were 
within  the  limits  of  the  original  thirteen  colonies  and  States,  and  some  in 
our  after-acquired  possessions,  and  to  all  of  them  were  extended  certain  spe- 
cific laws  of  the  United  States,  but,  as  if  to  emphasize  the  power  of  Con- 
gress in  their  government,  the  Constitution  and  laws  ” of  the  United 
States  were  not  extended  over  any  of  them.  In  still  further  emphasizing 
the  power  to  govern,  to  grant,  and  to  withhold,  the  acts  of  1850  and  after- 
ward, establishing  territorial  governments  for  New  Mexico  and  Utah,  de- 
parted from  this  unbroken  line  of  legislation  and  specifically  made  the  Con- 
stitution and  laws  of  the  United  States  of  the  same  force  and  effect  as  in  the 
United  States,  the  language  of  the  laws  indicating  that  without  therr  legisla- 
tion the}^  did  not  operate. 

Citizen  is  a broad  generalization.  In  one  sense  it  includes  all  the  in- 
habitants of  every  age  and  sex  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States, 
and  to  all  of  them  are  guaranteed  protection  for  life,  liberty,  property,  and 
religion.  In  another  and  larger  way  it  means  those  who,  in  addition  to 
these  rights,  are  entitled  to  the  suffrage,  to  trial  by  jury,  and  to  every  priv- 
ilege and  protection  under  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States. 
The  right  to  vote  and  participate  in  the  government  has  been  treated  with 
singular  freedom.  Property  qualification,  or  tax,  or  both,  as  a prerequi- 
site to  vote  were  common  in  all  the  States  until  1821,  and  in  Rhode  Island 
until  1888. 

By  uniform  legislation  from  the  formation  of  the  republic  and  by 
repeated  and  clear  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  these  principles  are 
established : First,  that  the  Constitution  thus  was  meant  for  the  States  in 
the  Union  as  they  severally  adopted  it.  Second,  that  it  becomes  operative 
upon  every  State  subsequently  admitted  into  the  Union.  Third,  that  it 
does  not  extend  by  its  own  force  over  territory  acquired  after  the  adoption 


THE  PHILIPPINES 


407 


of  the  Constitution,  but  that  Congress  has  the  power  to  grant  so  much  of 
its  provisions  as  it  deems  wise. 

The  third  section  of  Article  IV  of  the  Constitution  says  : “ The  Con- 
gress shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  needful  rules  and  regu- 
lations respecting  the  territory  and  other  property  belonging  to  the  United 
States.” 

Tlie  sixth  article  of  the  Constitution  says  : All  treaties  made  tinder 
the  authority  of  the  United  States  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land.” 

Here  is  the  charter  for  the  government,  and  the  duty  to  hold  and  govern 
the  Philippines.  By  the  treaty  with  France  for  Louisiana,  with  Spain  for 
Florida,  and  with  Mexico  for  territories  acquired,  the  ceding  nations  reserved 
specific  rights  for  their  inhabitants  and  a pledge  of  future  statehood.  The 
treaty  of  Paris  with  Spain  stands  alone  in  the  baldness  of  the  cession. 
Spain  reserved  nothing  by  treaty  rights  for  her  subjects  in  the  Pacific 
islands  and  the  archipelago.  The  treaty  simply  says : “ That  the  civil 
rights  and  political  status  of  the  native  inhabitants  of  the  territories  hereby 
ceded  to  the  United  States  shall  be  determined  by  the  Congress.” 

The  ratification  of  this  treaty  by  the  Senate  made  it,  in  the  language 
of  the  Constitution,  “ the  supreme  law  of  the  land.”  The  President  and 
Congress  have  no  discretion.  They  must  obey  this  law.  They  must  hold 
these  territories  as  they  must  hold  New  Mexico.  They  must  provide 
government  for  them  as  they  must  also  for  Alaska.  They  must  suppress 
insurrection  by  the  same  right  and  duty  as.  they  did  when  Geronimo  and 
his  tribe  rebelled  in  Arizona. 

It  has  been  repeatedly  said  that  government  by  the  United  States  in 
these  islands  will  be  a despotism.  Such  a belief  shows  a singular  ignorance 
or  misapprehension  of  the  constitutional  limitations  upon  our  powers  and 
the  spirit  of  our  institutions.  While  the  Constitution  does  not  extend  over  the 
Territories  of  its  own  force,  and  without  legislation,,  its  prohibitions  are  bind- 
ing on  Congress.  In  those  prohibitions,  which  are  also  privileges  enjoyed 
by  the  people  wherever  our  jurisdiction  extends,  is  a complete  charter  of 
rights  which  Congress  can  neither  limit  nor  impair.  All  personal  privileges 
and  immunities,  such  as  religious  freedom,  property  rights,  freedom  of 
speech  and  the  press,  and  equality  before  the  law  must  prevail  wherever  our 
flag  floats.  But  outside  of  the  Constitution  and  laws  is  an  unwritten  law, 
created  by  the  genius  of  the  institutions,  of  the  paramount  power  and  con- 
trolling its  acts  and  officials  in  all  colonial  governments. 

We  know  from  Cicero’s  oration  that  even  a.  Roman  proconsul  was  sub- 
ject to  this  idea.  England  received  her  Tessom  in  the  danger  of  violating. 


468 


THE  PHILIPPINES 


this  spirit  when  she  lost  her  iVmerican  colonies  by  our  successful  revolution, 
and  she  has  to-day  the  greatest  and  most  loyal  colonial  empire  the  world 
has  ever  known  by  granting  such  measures  of  self-government  as  each 
colony  demonstrates  its  ability  to  maintain.  Electricity  and  steam  have 
annihilated  time  and  distance.  The  Philippines  are  nearer  Washington  by 
months  than  New  Orleans  was  in  Jefferson’s  administration.  The  flag 
carries  with  it  everywhere  the  genius  and  spirit  of  American  liberty  and  law. 

All  other  nations  have  been  familiar  through  the  ages  with  the  power 
of  sovereignt3^  Their  people  have  gradually  won  individual  rights  from  the 
throne,  but  without  impairing  in  its  national  relations  this  power.  We 
have  developed  the  other  way.  Slowly  and  reluctantly  we  have  surrendered 
individual  rights  that  we  might  be  a nation.  We  have  been  a hundred  years 
trying  to  understand  that  a government  of  the  people  has  all  the  strength, 
perpetuity,  and  powers  of  sovereignt}^,  but  with  an  ever-present  responsi- 
bility to  the  people.  The  great  debate  between  those  who  aflirmed  and 
those  who  denied  that  we  are  a nation  continued  long  after  Webster’s  un- 
answerable argument  in  the  Senate  and  Chief  Justice  Marshall’s  imposing 
decision  from  the  bench.  When  submitted  to  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword, 
the  sacrifice  of  a million  noble  lives  on  one  side  and  the  other  opened  the 
mind  of  friends  and  foes  to  a broader  and  more  elevated  understanding  of 
the  indissoluble  unity,  the  vast  and  expansive  possibilities,  the  creative  and 
beneficent  spirit,  and  the  mighty  and  glorious  power  of  the  United  States. 

The  fears  daily  expressed  of  disastrous  consequences  to  ourselves  from 
the  productions  and  industries  of  these  islands  have  no  justification  in  the 
long  experience  of  other  nations.  Great  Britain  has  found  her  best  mar- 
kets in  her  colonies  and  no  invasion  of  her  industries  from  them.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  crowded,  highly  organized,  and  sensitive  industrial 
interests  of  Holland.  The  people  of  the  temperate  zones  govern  all  tropical 
countries  outside  the  Americas.  The  northern  races  are  the  migrators,  the 
colonizers,  the  rulers,  and  the  organizers  of  the  productive  energies  of  the 
world.  There  is  a closeness  and  contact  between  all  parts  of  the  lands  and 
peoples  which  are  under  one  general  government.  Though  Great  Britain 
has  no  greater  commercial  advantages  wdth  her  colonies  than  other  and 
competing  countries,  yet  she  furnishes  forty-five  per  cent,  of  their  imports, 
and  if  analyzed  so  as  to  select  onl}^  the  articles  she  produces  the  proportion 
would  be  greater.  The  rapid  development  of  wants  and  ability  to  gratify 
them  created  by  civilization  and  stable  government  will  enormously  in- 
crease the  consumption  and  purchasing  power  of  the  inhabitants  of  our 
island  possessions. 


TtSLft 


jojEP/1  Henry 


f^AUKuu 


NOTED  SCIENTISTS  OF  THE  ENITED  STATES. 


Nicdla  Tesla  is  a Servian,  whose  electrical  discoveries 
place  him  among  the  foremost  scientists  of  the  age. 
Alexander  Winchell,  born  in  1824,  died  in  1891,  was 
a noted  geologist  and  naturalist. 

Benjamin  Silliman,  born  ir.  1779,  died  in  1864,  was 
called  “The  Nestor  of  American  Science.” 


Joseph  Henry,  horn  in  New  York  in  1797,  died  in 
1878,  is  believed  by  many  to  have  been  the  real  in- 
ventor of  the  electro-magnetic  telegraph. 

Benjamin  franklin,  born  in  ^Massachusetts  in  1706, 
died  in  1790,  was  one  of  the  most  famous  of  Ameri- 
cans. 


NOTED  EXPLORERS. 


THE  PHILIPPINES" 


469 


America  and  Europe  are  tlie  beneficiaries  and  the  victims  of  the  mar^ 
velous  development  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Electricity,  steam,  and 
invention  have  stimulated  production  beyond  living  limits,  unless  new  mar- 
kets can  be  discovered.  The  great  migrations  of  ancient  and  modern  times 
appear  insignificant  when  compared  with  the  exodus  from  Europe  in  the 
last  seventy-five  years.  The  figures  reach  the  enormous  volume  of 
17,000,000  of  human  beings  whose  exile  from  home  and  country  has 
been  mainly  enforced  by  congestion  from  over-production  and  revolution  in 
employments  by  inventions  and  development  in  the  arts  and  industries. 
Our  fertile  lands  have  attracted  most  of  them,  but  they  are  practically 
exhausted,  and  now  the  world’s  problem  of  markets  for  the  surplus  of  farms 
and  factories,  or  low  wages,  want  of  employment,  idleness,  and  want,  is  near 
our  own  doors. 

The  markets  for  the  products  of  our  farms  and  factories  accessible  by 
the  x\tlantic  Ocean  will  soon  be  filled.  But  across  the  Pacific  are  limitless 
opportunities.  Within  a distance  from  Manila  not  much  greater  than 
Havana  from  New  York  live  900,000,000  of  people,  purchasing  now  an- 
nually from  all  nations,  of  the  things  which  we  produce,  to  the  sum  of  a 
thousand  millions  of  dollars,  of  which  we  furnish  five  per  cent.  And  yet, 
with  our  Pacific  coast  and  its  enterprising  people,  the  opening  of  the  canal 
across  the  isthmus,  and  an  American  merchant  marine,  that  five  per  cent, 
should  be  fifty.  With  railroads  opening  up  these  countries  and  civilization 
stimulating  their  people,  the  possible  increase  in  their  trade  dazzles  the 
imaginatiom  To  relieve  home  congestion,  starvation,  and  revolution,  Eng- 
land, Germany,  and  France  are  increasing  their  armies,  enlarging  their 
fleets,  and  either  waging  war  or  on  the  eve  of  great  conflicts  while  partition- 
ing Africa,  threatening  China,  seizing  Asiatic  principalities,  and  madly 
building  railroads  across  the  continents  of  Asia  and  Africa.  By  victorious 
war  and  triumphant  diplomac}^  we  are  in  our  own  territory  within  easy  reach, 
at  Manila,  of  China,  Siam,  Korea,  Annam,  the  East  Indies,  and  Japan. 
Without  war  or  entangling  alliances  we  will  have  equal  rights  with  other 
nations  to  the  ports  of  the  Orient,  with  all  that  it  means  for  the  demon- 
strated superiority  of  our  manufactures  and  the  surplus  harvests  of  our 
farms. 


CHAPTER  XLV 


EVOI.UTION  AND  HISTORY  OF  THE  POLITICAL  PARTIES  FROM  l8oo  TO  19OO 

IT  is  in  the  United  States  that  the  evolution  of  politics  is  working  itself 
out  freely,  untrammelled  by  traditions  or  customs,  and  it  is  here  that 
the  final  ideal  of  politics  will  first  be  reached,  however  remote  that 
time  will  be. 

A narrative  of  the  various  stages  leading  up  to  the  formation  of  the 
different  parties,  from  the  time  when  Washington  organized  his  administra- 
tion to  the  division  in  each  of  the  two  great  parties  on  the  question  of 
bimetallism,  would  be  an  epitome  of  all  American  history,  and  intrude  itself 
upon  every  important  event  in  the  period  covered  by  this  book. 

Nothing  in  this  country  appears  to  the  stranger  more  intricate  than 
our  politics.  The  different  parties,  the  various  machines,  county.  State,  and 
national ; the  “ bosses,”  “ heelers,”  and  workmen,  all  present  such  a con- 
fusion of  ideas  so  varied  that  it  is  only  after  many  years  that  the  foreigner 
begins  to  comprehend  our  systems  of  government,  and  the  principles  under- 
lying our  political  movements.  As  a matter  of  fact  the  great  majorit}^  of 
Americans  themselves  are  no  better  off,  and  have  no  clear  perception  of  the 
part  they  are  playing  in  the  administration  of  affairs. 

A vast  majority  of  the  white  people  in  the  Southern  states  are  Demo- 
crats, through  opposition  to  the  Republican  party,  which  fought  the  war 
and  deprived  them  of  their  slaves.  Opposite  to  them  are  the  negroes  with 
allegiance  to  the  Republicans,  because  it  is  to  that  party  they  owe  their 
freedom,  and  to  whom  they  still  look  for  protection  of  themselves  and  their 
political  rights.  The  political  question  there  has  become  a race  question 
regardless  of  the  principles  which  the  two  great  parties  represent.  Change 
the  platforms,  the  result  would  be  the  same,  and  the  whites  be  found  on  that 
side  opposed  to  the  negro. 

At  times  the  race  question  has  entered  very  largely  into  American  poli- 
tics, with  feeling  against  foreigners,  more  especially  Irish  Italian,  and 
470 


EVOLUTION  AND  HISTORY  OF  POLITICAL  PARTIES 


471 


Germans.  Throiigli  them  there  has,  at  times,  been  danger  of  a clash  of 
religious  denominations,  as  many  believed  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  was 
hostile  to  the  spirit  of  Democracy  and  the  majorit}^  of  the  foreigners  were 
of  that  religious  body. 

Happily,  prejudices  of  race  and  religion  are  dying  out,  and  neither 
party  can  claim  a monopoly  of  the  foreign  vote.  Issues  of  the  great 
Presidential  contests  of  recent  years  have  been  so  varied  and  complicated 
that  the  leaders  of  the  parties  advised  breaking  away  from  old  campaign 
methods,  which  had  latterly  been  directed  to  villifying  the  character  of  the 
candidates,  x^fter  the  bitter  campaign  of  1891,  when  Grover  Cleveland 
defeated  James  G.  Blaine,  the  trend  of  the  party  leaders  was  toward 
appealing  to  the  intellect  of  the  voters,  rather  than  to  their  passions,  and 
from  this  beginning  there  has  sprung  up  the  “ campaign  of  education.” 

From  1789  to  1801,  the  Federal  party,  represented  b}^  George  Wash- 
ington and  John  Adams,  was  in  control  of  the  National  Government,  but 
in  the  early  dawn  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  forced  to  succumb  to  the 
growing  strength  of  the  Republicans,  who  inaugurated  Thomas  Jefferson 
as  President  in  1801. 

The  troublous  times  in  France  had  excited  the  interest  and  sympath}^ 
of  a large  number  of  people  in  this  country  who,  in  imitation  of  the  French, 
organized  secret  societies,  patterned  after  the  famous  Jacobite  clubs  of 
Paris.  Many  of  the  most  brilliant  men  of  the  times  were  gradually 
attracted  to  the  gatherings  of  these  societies,  where  the  subject  of  ‘‘good 
government  ” was  the  almost  constant  theme  of  debate. 

It  was  from  this  material,  augmented  by  numbers  of  anti-Federalists, 
and  dissatisfied  adherents  of  Washington  and  Adams  (principally  civilians 
opposed  to  favoritism  of  the  army),  that  Thomas  Jefferson  formed  the 
Republican  party  which,  in  1801,  finally  seated  him  at  the  head  of  the 
Government.  It  is  rather  singular  that  a party  having  so  eminent  a man 
as  George  Washington  as  its  head,  should  not  have  had  the  vitality  to 
recover  from  the  shock  of  defeat.  In  explanation  it  is  said  that  the  position 
of  the  Federalist  party  was  weak  and  precarious  from  the  first.  The  com- 
bination of  interests  which  produced  it  lacked  party  unison,  and  the  deep 
antagonisms  aroused  by  events  in  the  Revolutionary  war  divided  it  beyond 
any  hope  of  united  action  after  the  removal  of  Washington’s  influence. 

For  twenty-eight  years  the  new  party  held  the  reins  of  government, 
though  the  Federalists  maintained  considerable  strength  in  some  of  the 
States  and  fought  the  opposition  at  times  to  the  verge  of  secession.  During 
this  period,  various  questions  of  national  import  w'ere  constantl}^  arising, 


472 


EVOLUTION  AND  HISTORY  OF  POLITICAL  PARTIES 


but  the  people  were  apparently  well  satisfied  to  allow  the  issues  to  be 
fought  out  in  the  Halls  of  Congress,  where  Clay,  Webster,  and  Calhoun 
gave  dignity  and  strength  to  the  debates. 

Since  the  beginning  of  the  century  the  extension  of  suffrage  had  been 
constant.  Alabama,  Indiana,  Illinois Maine,  Missouri,  Mississippi,  and 
Ohio  had  entered  the  Union  with  manhood  suffrage  specifically  provided 
by  law,  or  established  by  practice.  This  example  created  a demand  on  the 
part  of  the  citizens  of  older  States,  which  could  not  be  restricted,  and  during 
a period  of  twelve  years  (1810-1822)  Maryland,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
and  Massachusetts  abolished  the  obnoxious  property  qualification  as  a 
condition  of  suffrage. 

Statesmen  of  the  old  school  who  were  adverse  to  the  new  order  of 
things,  combined  with  the  so-called  Aristocrats  to  make  a last  stand  to 
resist  the  clamor  of  the  non-property  holders.  The  result  was  so  disastrous 
to  the  old  Republican  party  that  it  was  shattered  to  fragments.  Andrew 
Jackson,  whose  wonderful  victory  over  the  pride  of  the  British  army  at 
New  Orleans  had  endeared  him  to  the  hearts  of  the  Americrn  people,  fully 
represented  the  ideas  of  the  new  Western  States,  and  his  election  by  the 
Democrats  was  assured  from  the  first. 

The  movement  which  secured  Jackson’s  magnificent  triumph  was  so 
strong  that  it  set  up  the  claim  of  being  the  direct  lineal  successor  of  the 
Republican  party  founded  by  Jefferson,  and  for  a time,  at  least,  retained  the 
title  of  Republican,  but  later  came  to  be  known  simply  as  the  Democratic 
party.  The  opposition  to  Jackson  claimed  to  be  the  true  Jeffersonian  Re- 
publican party,  but  changed  its  name  several  times.  As  it  broadened  out, 
however,  and  embraced  all  elements  antagonistic  to  the  Democrats,  it  adopted 
the  old  revolutionary  party  name  of  Whig. 

The  new  Whig  party  was  a coalition  of  the  National  Republicans  with 
the  Anti-Masons,  Conservatives,  and  Nullifiers.  They  contended  that  they 
alone  represented  the  true  Jeffersonian  principle,  but  the  newly-born  Demo- 
crats managed  to  secure  possession  of  the  Jeffersonian  tradition,  and  have 
retained  it  to  the  present  day. 

From  1829  Whigs  and  Democrats  battled  for  supremacy  in 

the  nation  with  about  equal  success.  During  this  time,  however,  there  was 
forming  an  issue  more  serious  in  its  nature  and  more  disastrous  in  its  con- 
sequences than  any  that  had  yet  confronted  the  nation  since  its  birth.  The 
bitterness  aroused  between  the  parties  could  not  be  allayed  by  the  peaceful 
ballot,  and  its  culmination  was  reached  in  the  great  revolution  of  the  nine- 
teenth century — the  American  civil  war.  The  question  of  slavery  became 


Ef^OLUriON  AND  HISTORY  OF  POLITICAL  PARTIES 


473 


one  of  vital  importance.  It  aroused  the  personal  interests  of  the  slave- 
owners, in  that  it  threatened  to  deprive  individuals  of  the  greater  portion  of 
their  property,  and  increase  the  cost  of  production  of  those  staples  which 
formed  the  basis  of  their  wealth. 

The  result  of  this  was  an  affiliation  of  the  Democrats  with  the  Whig 
slave-owners  and  other  anti- Abolitionists,  which  grew  in  strength  so  rapidly 
as  to  excite  the  fears  of  the  opposition  in  the  free  labor  States.  This  oppo- 
sition, composed  of  Abolitionists  and  the  remnants  of  the  old  Whig  party, 
effected  an  organization  immediately  preceding  the  darkest  hours  in  the  life 
of  the  American  nation,  and  it  is  this  organization  which  is  known  as  the 
K epublican  party  of  to-day.  In  1 860  the  new  party  elected  Abraham  Lin- 
f^oln  as  President  of  the  United  States,  and  for  nearly  a quarter  of  a century 
following  retained  control  of  the  administration  of  affairs. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  last  decade  another  party,  inspired  wholly  by 
philanthropic  motives,  came  into  life.  It  advocated  but  one  principle ; its 
platform  had  but  one  plank.  Recognizing  the  futility  of  independent  action 
without  the  support  of  the  tw'o  great  parties,  it  endeavored  to  secure  the 
adoption  of  their  principle  by  either  one  of  these  in  return  for  the  support 
of  their  organization  and  that  of  “ the  better  element.”  This  was  the  Pro- 
hibition party.  They  favored  the  legal  prohibition  by  State  and  National 
legislation  of  the  manufacture,  importation,  exportation,  and  inter-state  trans- 
portation and  sale  of  alcoholic  beverages.  This  was  the  one  principle  for 
which  they  were  battling,  and  in  their  platform  they  declared  that  “ it  was 
their  purpose  to  unite  all  friends  of  prohibition  into  one  party  to  achieve 
this  end,  and  leave  them  the  right  to  freedom  of  individual  conviction  upon 
all  other  political  questions.”  The  liquor  interestsVere  of  such  magnitude, 
however,  that  neither  of  the  two  great  parties  cared  to  risk  the  opposition  of 
a power  so  formidable  by  the  adoption  of  a measure  aimed  at  their  existence. 
Probably  discouraged,  but  still  determined,  the  Prohibitionists  have  held 
conventions  and  nominated  their  candidates  regularly  every  four  years 
since,  and  in  1896  polled  over  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  thousand  votes  for 
their  nominee,  Hon.  Joshua  Levering. 

A long  period  of  depression  among  the  agricultural  and  laboring  classes 
followed  the  civil  war.  Crops  were  poor  and  money  scarce.  Labor  was  in 
abundance,  and  therefore  cheap.  As  a temporary  relief,  much  money  was 
borrowed  by  individuals  upon  mortgage,  but  the  conditions  did  not  improve, 
and  it  became  a serious  matter  to  even  pay  the  interest  on  the  loans. 

The  so-called  money  question  became  one  of  vital  importance.  It  was 
discussed  in  every  walk  of  life,  and  to  a large  class  it  appeared  that  the 


474 


EVOLUTION  AND  HISTORY  OF  POLITICAL  PARTIES 


only  solution  of  the  difficulties  of  the  laborers  was  in  the  unlimited  circula 
tion  of  paper  money.  This  idea  became  a very  popular  one  among  the  un- 
thinking, so  that  in  a short  while  the  movement  gained  such  a rapid  head- 
way that  it  reached  the  dignity  of  a national  party,  and  adopted  the  name 
of  the  Greenback  Labor  party.  It  was  not  only  successful  in  securing  the 
election  of  several  members  of  Congress,  but  polled  a heavy  vote  for  its 
Presidential  candidate. 

As  conditions  did  not  improve,  however,  and  there  seemed  but  little 
hope  of  the  Greenbackers  achieving  the  results  for  which  the}^  were  fighting, 
many  of  its  strongest  members  dropped  out,  and  the  organization  weakened 
almost  as  rapidly  as  it  first  gained  in  strength. 

Dissatisfaction  was  still  rife.  Bitter  animosities  against  the  “ monopo- 
list ” and  “ bloated  bond-holder  ” were  still  being  generated,  and  amidst  it 
all  there  was  no  sign  of  even  temporary  relief  of  the  stress  of  the  times. 

Districts  formed  local  organizations,  having  for  their  object  the  relief  of 
the  laboring  classes  by  legislation,  and  these  were  eventually  combined  under 
the  name  of  The  Farmers’  Alliance.  In  1890,  the  National  Farmers’  Alliance 
and  Industrial  Union  sprang  into  existence  as  a political  organization,  as  a re- 
sult of  this  combination,  but  after  the  action  of  the  National  Convention  of 
1892,  it  was  christened  the  People’s  Party  of  America,  and  during  the  cam- 
paign which  followed,  the  opposition  applied  the  title  of  “ Populists,”  in  de- 
rision, and  it  is  by  this  name  it  is  now  most  frequently  referred  to. 

In  some  States,  notably  in  Nebraska  and  North  Carolina,  they  devel- 
oped great  strength,  and  in  1896  polled  over  a quarter  of  a million  votes  for 
the  straight  Populist  ticket,  Bryan  and  Watson,  while,  it  is  claimed,  fully 
as  many  more  votes  of  the  party  were  cast  for  Bryan  and  Sewell  and  “ Free 
Silver.”  It  was  entirely  due  to  the  successful  fusion  of  the  Populists  with 
the  Republicans  in  North  Carolina,  that  the  control  of  that  State  and  the 
election  of  a United  States  Senator  was  secured  by  the  Republicans.  The 
success  of  this  movement  was  the  undoubted  cause  of  the  recent  heroic 
measures  resorted  to  by  the  Democrats  of  that  State  to  perpetuate  the  dom- 
inanc}"  of  the  “ White  Man’s  Party,”  by  depriving  the  negroes  of  North 
Carolina  of  the  right  of  franchise. 

In  1884  the  Democrats  rallied  under  the  strong  leadership  of  Grover 
Cleveland,  and  elected  him  President.  He  was  again  nominated  in  1888,  to 
suffer  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Benjamin  Harrison  (Republican),  who  in  turn 
was  defeated  by  Mr.  Cleveland  in  1892. 

William  AIcKinley,  a statesman  of  more  than  ordinary  ability,  was  put 
forward  by  the  Republicans  as  the  champion  of  their  party  in  1896,  and 


EVOLUTION  AND  HISTORY  OF  POLITICAL  PARTIES 


Alh 


successfully  defeated  the  young  but  brilliant  lawyer  from  the  West,  William 
J.  Bryan.  Mr.  McKinley’s  administration  was  destined  to  call  forth  all 
those  qualities  of  statesmanship  for  which  he  had  become  famous.  His 
prompt  action  in  all  matters  affecting  the  foreign  interests  of  the  United 
States  commended  him  to  the  people  of  the  country  so  that  his  renomina- 
tion was  inevitable.  The  advanced  policies  fonliulated  during  his  adminis- 
tration afforded  new  issues  upon  which  to  fight  the  last  campaign  of  the 
century,  and  gave  rise  to  Anti-Imperialism  ” as  the  slogan  of  Democracy. 

Lack  of  facilities,  especially  those  for  transportation,  prevented  a gen- 
eral adoption  of  the  plan  of  National  conventions  during  the  early  days  of 
the  century,  though  many  of  the  States  held  meetings  spasmodically,  where 
they  either  placed  their  choice  in  nomination  or  ratified  the  candidates 
already  in  the  field. 

It  was  not  until  1832,  however,  that  what  may  be  regarded  as  a regu- 
larly constituted  National  party  convention  was  held  by  the  New  National 
Republicans  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  During  the  same  year  the  first 
formal  platform  ever  framed  by  a National  convention  was  adopted  in 
Washington.  During  the  eight  years  following  the  convention  system 
grew  into  popular  favor,  and  since  the  convention  of  1840  when  the  Demo- 
cratic party  adopted  their  first  National  platform,  the  system  has  become  an 
inseparable  part  of  the  political  machinery  of  the  United  States.  Since 
then  no  party  has  failed  to  submit  to  the  public  some  statement  of  its 
purpose.  The  adoption  of  a platform  in  those  days  was  accepted  as  a party 
obligation,  but  unfortunately,  in  later  years,  they  have  become  so  vague  and 
ambiguous  that  very  little  importance  is  attached  to  them  after  their  adoption. 

Now  the  position  of  the  candidate,  as  defined  by  himself,  is  of  far  more 
weight  with  the  voters,  and  the  letter  of  acceptance  ” is  considered  the 
legitimate  creed  of  the  party. 


CHAPTER  XLVI 


EXPLORATIONS  AND  DISCOVERIES  OF  THE  XIX  CENTURY 

Du  Chaiuuu—Livingstonk— Stanley— Peary— Nansen,  Etc. 

There  has  not  been  any  lack  of  enterprise,  courage,  men,  or  means 
to  advance  the  cause  of  knowledge  and  plant  the  banner  of  civiliza- 
tion in  unknown  lands  during  the  nineteenth  century. 

With  the  advantages  of  greater  facilities,  expeditions  fitted  out  in  the 
interests  of  science  have  been  more  ingeniously  prepared,  better  equipped, 
more  intelligently  planned,  and  as  courageously  led  as  any  in  other  periods. 
That  the  results  are  not  of  the  same  character  which  distinguished  the  suc- 
cess of  the  earlier  explorers  is  due  entirel}^  to  the  fact  that  there  are  no 
great  areas  of  land  or  sea  unknown  to  us. 

During  the  sixty  years  comprising  the  decade  of  the  fifteenth  and  the 
first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  greater  part  of  the  earth’s  surface 
was  made  known  to  mankind.  It  was  during  these  years  that  Sebastian 
d’Elasco  first  circumnavigated  the  globe ; that  Vasco  da  Gama  first  doubled 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  that  the  two  Americas  were  added  to  the  rest 
of  the  world  by  the  voyage  of  Columbus,  the  two  Cabots,  and  Magellan. 
Australia,  under  the  name  of  “Java  La  Grand,”  also  appeared  on  European 
maps. 

Since  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  every  sea  except  those 
within  the  Arctic  and  Antarctic  Circles  have  been  traversed  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  very  many  islands,  both  large  and  small,  have  been  discovered. 
It  is  perfectly  safe  to  assume  that  all  the  land  areas  of  the  world  are 
known,  in  position  and  extent,  with  the  exception  of  what  may  be  hidden 
behind  the  Northern  and  Southern  ice.  But  although  the  position  and 
extent  of  practically  all  the  land  areas  of  the  globe  are  known,  regions  of 
vast  extent  still  remain  unexplored,  and  an  immense  aggregate  area,  though 
generally  known  and  mapped,  has  not  yet  been  explored  in  detail,  much 
less  accurately  surveyed.  Moreover,  there  are  extensive  regions  which 
476 


EXPLORATIONS  AND  DISCOVERIES  OE  THE  XI X CENTURY  477 


although  they  have  been  mapped  in  considerable  detail,  still  require  mud) 
more  careful  exploration  than  they  have  yet  received. 

Of  the  altogether  unexplored  regions  of  continental  land,  undoubtedl}^ 
the  largest  area  is  still  in  Africa,  notwithstanding  the  gigantic  strides  ex- 
ploration there  has  made  during  the  present  century  and  especially  during 
its  latter  half. 

African  explorers  from  Bruce  and  Mungo  Park  down  to  Livingstone 
and  Stanley  and  those  still  in  the  field  have  gradually  changed  the  map  of 
that  country  from  what  was  little  more  than  the  outline  of  a great  continent 
to  an  area  very  largely  dotted  with  detail.  Despite  this  great  progress,  there 
still  remains  an  unexplored  area  of  about  six  million  square  miles,  more 
than  one-half  of  the  whole  continent. 

The  progress  of  exploration  in  the  United  States  has  naturally  been 
westward,  following  in  the  footsteps  of  the  sturdy  pioneers,  who  forced  their 
way  through  impenetrable  forests ; over  rushing  rivers  and  stupendous 
mountain  peaks  came  the  mighty  army  of  Americans  planting  cities  where 
it  stopped,  and  gradually  extending  itself  throughout  the  whole  territor}^ 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River. 

The  many  deeds  of  intrepid  daring,  the  marvelous  feats  of  heroism 
displayed,  the  energy  expended,  lives  lost,  treasure  spent,  and  the  detailed 
results  of  all  this  would  fill  many  volumes.  It  would  be  a hopeless  task  to 
even  briefly  outline,  within  the  compass  of  a single  chapter  of  this  book, 
the  grand  achievements  of  the  nineteenth  century  explorers.  At  the  same 
time,  the  subject  could  not  be  left  without  a reference  to  the  more  important 
discoveries  of  Dr.  Livingstone,  and  Stanley  and  Franklin,  Greel}^  Peary, 
and  Nansen. 

In  1798  the  whole  body  of  the  African  continent  north  of  the  limited 
Cape  Colony  to  the  Mediterranean  countries  was  absolutely  unknown, 
except  for  a narrow  fringe  of  the  coast.  Bruce  had  been  to  the  head  of  the 
Blue  Nile,  and  Mungo  Park  had  visited  Timbuktu,  bringing  back  strange 
stories  of  the  wealth  and  myster}^  surrounding  the  natives  of  that  barbarian 
city.  Their  line  of  travel,  with  Morocco,  Algiers,  Tunis,  Tripoli,  Egypt, 
Abyssinia,  and  Senegal,  comprised  our  knowledge  of  Africa. 

What  is  known  of  Africa  to-day  is  mainly  due  to  the  explorations 
which  commenced  with  Livingstone’s  first  journey  to  the  Zambesi  in  1854- 
1857,  followed  by  his  later  researches,  and  those  of  Du  Chaillu,  Cameron, 
and  the  three  trips  of  Stanley.  Now  the  basin  of  the  Nile,  Kongo,  Niger, 
Zambesi,  and  Limpopo,  together  with  all  the  great  lakes,  are  fairl}^  well 
known. 


478  EXPLORATIONS  AND  DISCOVERIES  OE  THE  XIX  CENTURY 


Dr.  Livingstone’s  discoveries  were  by  far  the  most  valuable  to  science, 
and  the  immense  amount  of  data,  including  detailed  maps  of  the  country 
he  traversed,  was  of  the  utmost  assistance  to  those  who  followed  later. 

While  his  first  journe}^  was  fruitful  in  that,  among  other  results, 
he  discovered  and  explored  Lake  Ngami  at  this  time,  it  was  the  second  trip 
which  made  his  name  famous  in  the  civilized  world.  It  was  during  1853- 
1856  he  made  the  remarkable  journe}^  from  Zambesi  to  Loanda  on  the  west 
coast,  and  then  retraced  his  steps  to  again  cross  the  continent  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Zambesi. 

In  1859  he  made  another  trip  up  the  Zambesi  and  Shire  Rivers,  making 
valuable  discoveries,  the  most  important  being  the  location  of  Lakes  Nyassa 
and  Shriva.  At  the  conclusion  of  this  trip  he  returned  to  London  for  a 
well-earned  rest,  but  the  fascinations  of  the  Dark  Continent  were  too  many 
for  the  indomitable  missionary,  and  in  1866  he  once  more  ventured  into  the 
wilds  of  that  inhospitable  land  to  discover  the  ultimate  source  of  the  Nile. 

Little  was  heard  from  him  during  the  seven  3^ears  remaining  of  his 
life,  which  were  fraught  with  great  discoveries  in  the  interest  of  the  world, 
and  with  great  sufferings  and  privations  on  the  part  of  the  explorer.  The 
long  silence  and  lack  of  aii}^  positive  information  concerning  the  fate  of 
this  brave  traveler  determined  Mr.  James  Gordon  Bennett  to  send  an  expe- 
dition under  Henry  M.  Stanley  to  find  Livingstone,  dead  or  alive.  Stanley’s 
trip  was  a successful  one,  for  in  1871  he  discovered  the  Doctor  at  Lake 
Tanganyika,  but  could  not  induce  him  to  return  to  civilization  until  he  had 
finished  his  labors,  which  were  unfortunately  ended  by  death  a few  years 
later,  among  the  scenes  and  savage  people  he  had  done  so  much  to  improve. 

In  1874-77  Stanley  again  ventured  into  the  interior  and  succeeded  in 
defining  the  source  of  the  Nile  and  showing  that  the  upper  Kongo  was  to 
be  found  in  the  Luapula,  which  connects  the  lakes  Bangweola  and  Moero. 
In  1865  B.  dll  Chaillu,  who  contributes  a very  important  chapter  in 

this  book  on  South  x\frica,  discovered  the  pigmy  tribe  of  the  Obongas, 
along  the  Garboon  coast,  between  the  Ogowe  and  Kongo  Rivers.  This  re- 
markable race  of  people,  aside  from  the  peculiarity  of  their  stature,  and  the 
heavy  growth  of  hair  with  which  they  are  covered,  have  one  marked  charac- 
teristic which  distinguishes  them  from  all  other  African  tribes,  in  that  they 
lived  in  a state  of  absolute  peace  among  themselves  and  their  neighbors. 
M.  du  Chaillu’s  account  of  the  strange  race  was  verified  later  by  Pere 
des  Avanches,  a Jesuit  missionar}^,  and  again  in  1871  by  Dr.  Schweinfurth. 

The  Mahdist  rebellion  in  Upper  Egypt,  culminating  in  the  fall  of 
Khartum  in  1884,  disorganized  the  government  of  the  region  of  the  Kongo 


EXPLORATIONS  AND  DISCOVERIES  OE  THE  XIX  CENTURY  479 


basin.  The  more  southern  equatorial  province,  together  with  its  gov- 
ernor, an  Austrian  scientist.  Dr.  Edward  Schnitzler,  but  known  in  Africa  as 
Emin  Pasha,  was  completely  cut  off  from  the  civilized  world,  and  its  fate 
remained  in  doubt  for  several  years.  The  attention  of  Europe  was  event- 
ually directed  toward  the  supposed  danger  of  Emin,  and  Stanley  was  again 
asked  to  head  an  expedition  for  the  relief  of  a white  man  lost  in  Africa. 
After  an  adventurous  journey  from  the  west  coast  and  through  the  Kongo 
basin,  Stanley  succeeded  in  finding  Emin  Pasha  on  the  shores  of  the  Albert 
Nyanza,  but,  singularly  enough,  it  required  the  utmost  persuasion  to  induce 
the  Doctor  to  return  to  the  haunts  of  civilization. 

Up  to  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  little  was  known  of  the 
Antarctic  region,  and  even  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  one  hundred  years 
much  of  our  information  is  the  result  of  deductions  of  known  conditions 
at  the  opposite  pole.  It  was  about  this  time  that  the  Messrs.  Enderbys, 
of  London,  a firm  of  English  ship-owners,  instructed  the  captains  of 
their  vessels  to  cruise  as  far  to  the  southward  as  possible,  with  a view 
to  discovery  and  exploration  of  unknown  lands.  It  was  their  Captain 
Briscoe,  who  in  1831  discovered  Enderb}^  Land,  about  one-third  of  a 
circle  eastward  from  South  Shetland,  and  forming  the  second  angle  of 
the  triangular  southern  continent.  In  the  3^ear  following  Captain  Briscoe 
<iiscovered  Adelaide  Island,  where  he  landed  and  made  a brief  exploration 
of  the  coast  line. 

In  1833  Captain  Kemp  discovered  the  eastern  extremity"  of  Enderby 
Land,  but  it  was  not  until  1838  that  Captain  Bellew  discovered  the  third 
angle  of  the  southern  continent  in  what  is  known  now  as  Wilkes’  Land. 

During  the  year  1839  to  1843  several  expeditions  to  the  Antarctic  regions 
were  fitted  out.  The  United  States  sent  one  under  Commander  Wilkes  ; 
d’Urville  headed  one  sent  out  by  the  French  Government,  and  Ross  safely 
piloted  the  British  expedition.  The  latter  penetrated  to  seventy-eight  de- 
grees south  in  the  latitude  of  New  Zealand,  discovered  the  mountainous 
district  of  Victoria  Land,  and  the  remarkable  active  volcano,  Mt.  Erebus, 
12,000  feet  high.  This  was  the  last  discovery  of  aii}^  note  in  the  extreme 
southern  waters,  though  .other  voyages  have  been  made  with  some  slight 
success. 

There  has  always  been  a strange  fascination  hovering  over  the  un- 
known regions  of  the  Arctic  which  has  attracted  the  venturesome  explorer  of 
all  countries,  and  even  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  about  to  close  many 
expeditions  had  been  made  toward  the  frozen  seas. 

The  first  notable  expedition,  made  so  from  the  fact  that  it  was  the  first 


480  EXPLORATIONS  AND  DISCOVERIES  OF  THE  XIX  CENTURY 


effort  of  Franklin  more  than  by  the  importance  of  the  results,  was  that  of 
the  ‘‘  Dorothea,”  Captain  David  Buchanan,  and  the  “ Trent,”  Lieutenant 
John  Franklin,  in  April,  i8i8.  After  crossing  the  Arctic  circle  these 
vessels  became  separated  through  stress  of  weather,  and  after  sustaining 
many  hardships  without  achieving  results  for  which  they  hoped,  the 
journey  was  abandoned,  and  they  returned  to  England. 

In  1825  Franklin  headed  a land  journey  toward  the  pole  and  spent  over 
two  years  in  the  Arctic.  During  that  time  he  discovered  and  accurately 
delineated  over  one  thousand  miles  of  the  American  continent,  hitherto  un- 
known. For  this  valuable  work  he  was  knighted,  and  it  was  as  Sir  John 
Franklin  he  set  forth,  in  1845,  liis  third  and  last  voyage  to  the  ‘‘  Frozen 
North.”  It  was  during  this  expedition  that  Franklin  made  the  discovery 
for  which  he  had  been  in  search  for  more  than  thirty  3^ears,  but  in  doing  so 
he,  with  every  member  of  his  party,  miserably  perished  amid  the  bleak  ice 
of  that  forbidden  land.  It  was  not  until  1880  that  the  United  States  expe- 
dition, under  ^mung  Lieutenant  Schwatka,  came  across  the  remains  of  that 
fateful  expedition,  from  the  records  of  which  positive  evidence  was  obtained 
that  Franklin  had  before  his  death  discovered  the  Northwest  Passage. 

The  Northeast  Passage  had  been  attempted  by  Paiy  in  1827  who,  after 
much  effort,  reached  eighty-two  degrees  forty  minutes  north.  Little  was 
done  in  this  direction  until  Sweden  interested  herself  in  the  matter  under 
the  active  guidance  of  Baron  Nordenskjold  who,  in  1858-72,  did  much  ex- 
ploring work,  and  at  last,  in  1876,  rounded  Cape  Chelyuskin  and  reached 
Yokohama  September  2,  1879. 

In  the  same  year  which  marked  Nordenskj  old’s  success  Mr.  James 
Gordon  Bennett  fitted  out  the  ill-fated Jeanette  ” expedition  under  Com- 
mander De  Long,  who  was  to  attempt  to  reach  the  pole  by  way  of  Bering 
Strait.  Misfortune  attended  them  from  the  start,  and  the  “Jeanette,”  after 
being  imprisoned  in  the  ice  pack  for  twenty  months,  was  crushed  so  badly 
in  the  break  up  that  she  was  abandoned,  and  later  went  down. 

The  crew  was  divided  among  the  three  long  boats,  under  command  of  the 
officers,  but,  after  the  first  night,  became  widely  separated.  De  Long  and 
his  party  eventually  reached  the  north  coast  of  Siberia,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Lena  River,  where  slow  starvation  and  death  overtook  them.  Engineer 
Melville,  now  Rear  Admiral,  who  had  been  placed  in  command  of  one  of  the 
long  boats,  succeeded  in  reaching  hospitable  natives,  and  at  once  organized 
a rescue  party,  which  he  heroically  led  until  he  came  upon  the  frozen 
remains  of  his  late  chief  and  his  little  band  of  comrades. 

Lieutenant  A.  W.  Greely  led  three  expeditions  during  the  following 


EXPLORATIONS  AND  DISCOVERIES  OP  THE  XIX  CENTURY  4^1 


ten  years,  each  of  them  attended  by  important  scientific  results  and  fraught 
with  much  danger. 

In  1893  Dr.  Fritjof  Nansen  announced  a novel  and  most  dangerous 
plan  for  reaching  the  pole.  Ignoring  the  accepted  canons  of  ice  naviga- 
tors, he  put  his  specially  prepared  ship,  the  “ Fram,”  into  the  great  ice  pack 
northeast  of  the  Kara  Sea,  with  which  he  expected  to  drift  to  the  pole. 
The  journey  became  too  tiresome  for  the  daring  navigator,  however,  and 
with  one  companion  and  a sledge  with  dogs,  carrying  supplies,  he  made  his 
way  northward  over  the  ice  to  a point  86°  14'  N.,  200  miles  farther  north 
than  had  yet  been  attained,  and  only  300  miles  from  the  goal  of  Arctic  ex- 
plorers. 

In  1897,  FroT  S.  A.  iVndree,  with  two  companions,  departed  from 
Virigo,  Spitzbergen,  in  a specially  constructed  balloon,  furnished  with 
ropes  and  drag  sails,  in  which  they  hoped  to  make  a quick  dash  to  the 
pole.  About  the  middle  of  August  following,  a carrier  pigeon  which  had 
alighted  to  rest  upon  a small  fishing  boat,  was  killed  by  the  crew,  and  an 
examination  of  the  little  messenger  revealed  what  has  since  proven  to  be 
the  last  message  from  the  brave  aeronauts.  It  was  dated  July  13,  1897,  two 
days  after  the  start,  and  said,  “ All  goes  well.”  Lieutenant  Peary  and  his 
brave  little  wife,  who  have  already  made  two  expeditions  to  the  Polar 
regions,  are  spending  the  closing  days  of  the  nineteenth  century  in  a heroic 
effort  to  penetrate  that  vast  ocean  of  ice,  which  alone  of  all  the  earth  and 
sea,  defies  the  courage  of  man. 

The  stupendous  continent  of  Asia  has  not  been  neglected  by  the 
scientist  and  traveler.  Its  great  features,  including  the  wonderful  Himalaya 
Mountains,  have  all  been  delineated  with  absolute  accurac}"  and  the  for- 
bidden land  of  Thibet  has  been  invaded  by  the  insatiable  traveler  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  The  valley  of  the  Ganges  was  traversed  in  1847-50 
by  Sir  Joseph  Hooker.  In  1885  Chinese  Turkestan  and  North  Thibet  were 
fully  explored  by  A.  D.  Carey.  The  coasts  of  China  and  Tartary  were 
accurately  surveyed  and  platted  for  the  first  time  by  the  English  Admiral 
Colliston,  during  the  fifties,  and  in  1862  Captain  Blakestone  surveyed  the 
great  Chinese  waterway,  the  Yang-tse-Kiang,  for  a distance  of  nine  hundred 
miles.  In  1881,  A.  R.  Colquhoun  made  a long  and  perilous  journey 
across  Southern  China,  and  Mrs.  Isabella  B.  Bishop’s  journey  through 
the  interior  of  Japan  were  both  noteworth}^  feats  and  contributed  a vast 
amount  of  knowledge  concerning  countries  about  which  little  was  known 
before. 

In  1853,  Richard  Burton  ventured  into  Mecca  and  IMedinah  at  the  risk 


482  EXPLORATIONS  AND  DISCOVERIES  OF  THE  XIX  CENTURY 


of  Ills  life  aud  obtained  extensive  knowledge  of  tbe  geography  of  the  coun- 
try and  much  information  regarding  the  sacred  cities  of  the  Mohammedans 
and  of  the  pilgrims  who  flocked  to  them. 

As  has  been  stated  before,  the  explorations  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
United  States  were  almost  wholly  directed  toward  opening  up  the  vast  tract 
of  land  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  In  1803,  President  Jefferson  sent  out 
an  expedition,  headed  by  Captain  Meriweather  Lewis  aud  Captain  William 
Clarke,  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the  country  between  the  Missouri 
River  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  This  immense  stretch  of  land  was  then  in 
possession  of  the  Indians,  and  no  traveler  ever  set  out  on  a journey  more 
fraught  with  peril.  With  the  unflinching  courage  which  has  ever  char- 
acterized the  American,  however,  these  men  penetrated  far  into  this  un- 
known land  of  painted  savages,  traveling  over  four  thousand  miles  in  their 
search  for  new  rivers,  mountains,  and  conditions,  and  breaking  the  way  for 
those  who  were  soon  to  follow. 

The  one  man,  however,  to  whom  the  American  people  are  mostl}^  in- 
debted for  the  opening  up  of  the  great  West,  is  John  C.  Fremont.  Desig- 
nated by  the  Government  in  1840  to  survey  the  vicinity  of  the  Des  Moines 
River,  he  made  a subsequent  trip  in  1843,  during  which,  among  other  im- 
portant results,  he  definitely  located  the  Great  Salt  Lake.  Other  expedi- 
tions followed,  and  it  was  on  the  fourth  of  these  that  he  became  stranded  in 
the  far  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  in  the  dead  of  winter.  The  expedition 
suffered  bitterly — men  and  cattle  perished,  and  finally  cannibalism  was 
resorted  to.  Fremont’s  active  mind  was  at  work,  however,  and  he 
eventually  guided  the  little  band  of  emaciated  and  delirious  men  to  Santa 
Fe.  As  soon  as  he  recovered  from  the  ill  effects  of  this  trip  he  once  more 
pursued  his  march  to  the  West,  and,  after  many  hardships  and  adventures, 
concerning  which  volumes  have  been  written,  he  reached  the  gold  country 
of  California  in  1849. 

The  great  German  naturalist,  Alex,  von  Humboldt,  began  explor- 
ations in  South  America  in  the  year  1800,  which  have  been  of  inestimable 
value  to  the  world.  Sailing  up  the  Orinoco  River  he  fully  platted  the 
immediate  country  through  which  he  passed,  until  Bogota  was  reached. 
He  immediately  directed  his  steps  southward,  and  reached  Quita  in  1802, 
having  in  the  meantime  gathered  a great  mass  of  valuable  data  concerning 
the  topography  of  the  mountainous  country  he  traversed.  His  most  noted 
achievement  was  in  connection  with  his  explorations  of  the  Orinoco  River 
and  surroundings,  during  which  he  established  the  existence  of  a commu- 
nication between  the  water  systems  of  the  Orinoco  and  the  Amazon.  In 


EXPLORATIONS  AND  DISCOVERIES  OE  THE  XIX  CENTURY  483 


1825  Pentland  began  a series  of  explorations  throngh  Peru,  Chili,  and 
Bolivia,  during  which  he  paid  special  attention  to  the  Andes,  measuring 
their  summits  and  discovering  numerous  passes. 

During  the  period  from  1835  to  1844,  Schombnrgk  thoroughly  explored 
British  Guiana.  The  rivers  were  traced  to  their  sources  for  the  first  time, 
and  the  great  basins  of  the  Amazon  and  Orinoco  were  explored  and  mapped. 
In  1872  Patagonia  was  traversed  by  Musters  for  a distance  of  nearly  one 
thousand  miles,  most  of  which  had  never  been  before  trodden  by  the  feet  of 
a white  man.  Much  scientific  data  relating  to  the  topography  of  South 
America  has  been  gathered  and  made  public  by  the  many  missionaries 
established  throughout  the  Southern  Continent,  and  form  a valuable  addi- 
tion to  the  knowledge  of  that  country. 

Whether  the  intrepid  explorer  who  ventures  into  the  unknown  labyrinth 
of  the  Dark  Continent,  or  forces  his  way  over  the  miles  of  jagged  ice  to  the 
frozen  pole,  will  be  rewarded  by  the  discovery  of  new  peoples  and  vast  accu- 
mulations of  treasure,  or  diamond  fields  rivaling  those  of  far-famed  Kimberly, 
is  left  for  the  adventurous  traveler  of  the  new  century  to  determine. 


CHAPTER  XLVII 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL  : CHINA  AT  WAR  WITH  THE  WORLD 
(By  WILLIAM  S.  WHITEFORD) 

AS  a fitting  climax  to  the  stupendous  achievements  of  the  closing  cen- 
tury is  the  probability  of  the  final  dismemberment  of  the  vast 
Chinese  Empire.  Though  boasting  a civilization  hundreds  of  years 
before  Europe  had  even  seen  her  walls,  she  is  still  the  most  powerful  in 
resisting  the  doctrine  of  Christianity,  the  advance  of  modern  ideas,  and  in 
refuting  all  that  is  embodied  within  the  meaning  of  the  word  civilization. 

Progress,  Civilization,  and  Christianity  have  been  steadily  demanding 
admission  to  the  dominions  of  that  great  empire,  until  even  Oriental  diplo- 
macy, which  has  ever  been  one  of  duplicity,  can  find  no  further  pretext  to 
delay  the  avalanche  which  is  about  to  engulf  the  creeds,  superstitions,  and 
barbarisms  of  their  jealously  guarded  institutions. 

The  present  crisis  in  China,  though  one  of  the  most  remarkable  the 
modern  world  has  been  called  upon  to  face,  is  but  a wonderful  fulfillment 
of  the  prophecies  of  well-informed  men  who  have  been  closely  following 
events  in  the  Orient.  In  1872,  Lieutenant  C.  L.  Totten,  U.  S.  Army,  de- 
tailed as  military  instructor  at  Yale  College,  predicted  that  the  greatest  war 
the  world  ever  knew  would  close  the  remaining  days  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  He  predicted  a vast  uprising  of  the  Celestial  Empire,  with  its 
countless  hordes  rushing  upon  the  armed  forces  of  combined  Europe  in  a 
frenzy  of  religious  fanaticism,  to  be  met  with  a merciless  hail  of  leaden 
missiles  and  gigantic  eruptions  of  powerful  explosives.  Through  the 
clouds  of  smoke  and  mist  of  blood  he  saw  the  occupation  of  China  by  the 
people  of  Europe. 

German  army  officers,  than  whom  there  are  no  closer  observers  of 
events  of  international  importance,  have  long  been  pointing  to  the  ominous 
484 


JAPANESE  ATTACK  ON  PING  YANG. 

Tlie  first  success  of  tlie  Japanese  in  the  war  with  China,  which  l)roke  out  in  August,  1894,  was  won  in  the  following  month  at  Ping  "i  ang,  when  the  Chinese  forces  were 
defeated  with  great  loss. 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


485 


gathering  of  war  clouds  above  the  Imperial  City  of  Pekin.  The  well-known 
antipathy  of  the  Empress  Dowager  to  all  foreigners,  and  the  gradually  in- 
creasing boldness  of  the  anti-conservative  and  other  secret  societies,  seemed  to 
bear  out  their  prediction  of  the  near  approach  of  the  dissolution  of  that  great 
Empire.  It  would  be  rather  remarkable  that  a government  which  dates 
back  to  2852  B.  c.,  and  has  retained  its  forms,  manners,  and  customs  for  over 
four  thousand  years,  should  perish  through  its  own  bigotry  at  the  close  of 
the  greatest  century  known  to  man. 

The  Chinese  Empire,  exclusive  of  its  dependencies,  may  be  considered 
the  greatest  compact  country  in  the  world,  having  an  area  of  one  million  three 
hundred  thousand  square  miles  and  a population  of  about  four  hundred  and 
two  million  six  hundred  thousand.  This  tremendous  area  of  land  is  washed 
upon  one  side  only  by  the  ocean,  divided  into  the  Formosa,  Eastern,  and 
Yellow  Seas,  and  Tonquin  Gulf.  The  coast  line-  is  upwards  of  twenty-five 
hundred  miles  in  length,  and  has  so  many  bays,  estuaries,  and  inlets,  dotted 
with  islands  of  varying  sizes,  that  navigation  is  attended  by  considerable  risk. 

The  country  is  traversed  by  four  great  mountain  ranges,  in  which  rise 
some  of  the  largest  rivers  of  the  world,  furnishing  China  with  an  unrivaled 
waterway. 

Notwithstanding  the  crowded  condition  of  the  cities,  and,  indeed,  the 
whole  Empire,  it  is  essentially  an  agricultural  country,  and  great  quantities 
of  cereals  are  raised  in  the  north,  while  in  the  west  and  south  tea  is  grown 
almost  exclusively.  The  climate  is  very  similar  to  that  of  North  America, 
except  that  it  has  greater  extremes  of  heat  and  cold. 

The  eighteen  provinces  of  China  proper  contain  upward  of  four  thou- 
sand walled  cities,  the  most  important  of  which  is  the  capital,  Pekin,  the 
seat  of  the  central  government  and  the  home  of  the  Emperor  and  royal 
family.  It  is  a collection  of  cities  within  cities,  there  being  the  Chinese  City 
and  the  Tartar  Cit}^  to  the  north  and  south  respectively,  within  which  is  the 
Imperial  City,  and  within  this  again  is  the  Forbidden  City.  The  mystery 
which  surrounds  the  Forbidden  City  renders  it  the  most  fascinating  place  in 
the  world.  It  contains  many  magnificent  palaces,  temples  of  gold  and  sil- 
ver, pavilions,  and  hanging  shrubbery,  delightfully  situated  amid  gorgeous 
gardens  and  groves,  traversed  by  canals  and  ornamented  with  lakes  and 
fountains  innumerable.  Europeans  who  have  been  permitted  to  look  upon 
this  beauty  say  that  it  presents  a scene  actually  dazzling  in  its  magnificent 
richness  and  ceaseless  variety. 

Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams,  a famous  Anglo-Cliinese  scholar,  writing  on 
the  subject  of  this  remarkable  place,  says  there  are  upwards  of  two  hundred 


486 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


palaces  in  the  enclosures  of  the  Forbidden  City  and  the  Imperial  City. 
Much  gorgeoiisness  assembled  within  a small  area  but  none  having  the  con- 
veniences deemed  essential  to  comfort  in  our  country.  Above  the  south 
gate  of  the  wall  enclosing  the  mysterious  city  is  a huge  gong,  which  is 
struck  whenever  the  Emperor  passes  through.  It  is  here  the  imperial  ruler 
receives  his  troops  when  they  return  from  war,  and  here  he  confers  gifts 
upon  vassal  potentates  and  viceroys.  Beyond  this  gate  is  a large  court 
where  a small  stream  is  spanned  by  five  marble  bridges.  These  lead  to  a 
'second  court  surrounded  by  gorgeous  pillars  and  marble  corridors.  At  the 
head  of  this  court  is  a superb  marble  structure,  over  one  hundred  feet  high^ 
and  known  as  the  Gate  of  Extensive  Peace.  Passing  on  to  another  gate 
one  is  struck  with  the  splendor  and  magnificence  of  the  most  beautiful  of 
all  palaces,  known  as  the  Tranquil  Palace  of  Heaven,  in  which  is  the 
imperial  council  chamber*  and  where  candidates  for  office  are  presented  to 
the  Emperor.  Just  beyond  this  magnificent  structure  is  the  Palace  of 
Earth’s  Repose,  wherein  is  located  the  imperial  harem,  directly  superin- 
tended by  the  Empress.  Between  this  palace  and  the  north  wall  of  the  For- 
bidden City  are  the  gardens  designated  for  'the  use  of  the  inmates  of  the 
harem,  the  wives  of  the  Emperor  and  their  attendants.  These  gardens  are 
' adorned  with  all  the  richness  and  splendor  that  barbaric  taste  and  immense 
wealth  could  suggest.  In  the  eastern  part  are  situated  the  offices  of  the 
cabinet  and  the  treasury,  and  north  of  these  offices  is  the  so-called  Hall 
of  Intense  Thought,  where  periodical  sacrifices  are  made  to  Confucius  and 
other  sages.  Near  this  is  the  library,  known  as  the  Hall  of  the  Literar}^ 
Abyss,  which  publishes  a catalogue  from  time  to  time  containing  a synopsis 
of  the  best  Chinese  literature.  At  the  north  end  of  the  eastern  division  are 
the  palaces  occupied  by  the  princes  of  the  ro^^al  blood,  their  relatives  and 
families.  In  the  same  quarter  is  the  small  temple  to  which  the  Emperor 
and  his  family  go  to  perform  their  devotions  before  tablets  commemorating 
their  departed  ancestors.  The  enclosure  which  surrounds  the  imperial 
palace  is  an  oblong  rectangle  about  six  miles  in  circuit,  encompassed  by  a 
wall  twenty  feet  in  height  and  having  a gate  at  each  face.  On  the  right 
of  the  avenue,  within  the  wall,  is  a gateway  leading  to  the  Tai  Mias,  or 
Temple  of  the  Imperial  Ancestors,  a large  collection  of  buildings  enclosed 
by  a wall  three  thousand  feet  in  circuit.  It  is  the  most  honored  of  the  re- 
ligious temples,  excepting  the  Temple  of  Heaven,  and  contains  tablets  of 
princes  and  meritorious  officers.  Here  offerings  are  presented  before  the 
tablets  of  deceased  emperors  and  empresses  and  worship  performed  at  the 
end  of  the  year  by  members  of  the  imperial  family  to  their  departed  ances- 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


487 


tors.  Across  the  avenue  from  the  temple  is  a gateway  leading  to  the  Shie- 
Tsih-Tan,  or  altar  of  the  gods  of  land  and  grain.  These  were  originally 
Kau  Lung,  a minister  of  public  works,  who  flourished  twenty-five  hundred 
years  before  Christ,  and  Hiatsih,  a very  remote  ancestor  of  Chau  Kung. 
The  altar  consists  of  two  stones,  each  five  feet  high,  the  upper  one  being 
fifty-eight  feet  square.  No  other  altar  of  the  kind  exists  in  the  empire,  and 
it  would  be  the  highest  kind  of  treason  to  build  one  like  it.  The  north, 
east,  south,  and  west  altars  are  respectively  black,  green,  red,  and  white, 
and  the  top  yellow.  The  ceremonies  connected  with  this  worship  are 
among  the  most  ancient  in  China. 

Outside  of  the  Imperial  City  is  the  Tartar  City,  which  forms  the  great 
northern  section  of  Pekin.  It  is  surrounded  by  a rectangular  wall,  about 
three  miles  on  a side.  In  1644  Manchu  Tartars,  having  conquered  and 
overthrown  the  Ming  dynasty,  took  possession  of  the  northern  part  of  the 
metropolis,  utilizing  it  for  residences.  Since  that  day,  however,  most  of  the 
property  has  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Chinese,  who  at  present  consti- 
tute a majority  of  the  population  of  the  Tartar  City.  Pekin,  at  the  present 
day,  has  a population  of  nearly  three  millions.  The  high  walls  surrounding 
it  are  composed  mainly  of  earth  dug  from  the  moat,  and  are  faced  with 
brick  and  stone.  At  intervals  of  sixty  yards,  square  towers  project,  and 
similar  towers  stand  on  either  side  of  each  of  the  sixteen  gates,  connected 
in  front  in  every  case  by  a semicircular  fort.  Each  gateway  is  surrounded 
by  a wooden  building  several  stories  in  height,  with  painted  portholes  for 
imaginary  cannon.  The  City  of  Pekin,  viewed  from  a distance,  appears  to 
be  an  immense  walled  encampment,  rather  than  the  capital  city  of  such  a 
stupendous  empire.  There  are  no  spires,  pillars,  minarets,  or  monuments, 
only  the  varied  colors  of  the  tiled  roofs — red,  green,  and  yellow — relieving 
the  monotony  of  the  scene  within  the  walls.  Here  and  there  are  large 
clumps  of  trees,  aud  before  each  ofi&cial  residence  is  a pair  of  flagstaffs. 
Pekin  has  no  manufacturers,  or  no  trade  in  any  proper  sense.  It  is  fed 
mainly  by  supplies  from  the  southern  provinces  and  by  flocks  raised  in  the 
northern  part  of  Chihli.  The  thoroughfares  leading  across  it  from  gate  to 
gate  are  broad  and  unpaved  avenues,  more  than  one  hundred  feet  wide.  The 
side  streets,  however,  are  miserable  little  lanes,  littered  with  the  refuse  of 
the  houses,  and  are  both  unsightly  and  unwholesome. 

The  walls  by  which  county  and  provincial  capital  cities  are  encircled 
are  usually  from  thirty  to  fifty  or  sixty  feet  high,  and  in  many  instances 
represent  undertakings  of  immense  magnitude.  At  the  north,  south, 
east,  and  west  sides  of  each  Chinese  city  there  are  large  folding  gates 


488 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


of  great  strength,  which  are  further  secured  by  equally  massive  inner 
gates. 

The  great  wall  of  China  is  a remarkable  fortification,  though  long  since 
rendered  valueless  as  a means  of  defense.  It  was  constructed  by  order  of 
the  Emperor  Shi-Hwang-Ti,  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  north  and 
northwestern  frontier  from  the  hordes  of  barbarians  who  then  swarmed  in 
that  part  of  Asia.  It  was  completed  in  21 1 b.  c.,  several  millions  of  work- 
men being  engaged  in  its  construction  during  a period  of  ten  years.  The 
entire  length  of  this  famous  structure  is  twelve  hundred  and  fifty-five  miles. 
It  varies  in  height  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet,  with  towers  three  hun- 
dred feet  apart,  and  fort}^  feet  high.  Each  face  of  the  wall  was  built  of  hewn 
stone  or  brick,  and  the  space  filled  in  with  earth.  It  is  wide  enough  at  the 
summit  to  permit  of  the  passage  of  three  double  teams  of  horses. 

The  Chinese  claim  for  themselves,  with  considerable  show  of  authority, 
a remarkable  antiquity.  Some  of  their  writers  endeavor  to  trace  their  origin 
several  millions  of  years  back  to  the  first  man,  who,  according  to  their  legend, 
created  himself  from  chaos.  He  next  created  the  earth,  sun,  moon,  and  stars. 
In  order  to  people  the  earth  he  first  took  a sunbeam,  from  which  he  made 
woman,  and  constructed  man  from  a great  cloud. 

The  Book  of  History,  edited  by  Confucius,  commences  with  the  reign  of 
Yao,  2357  B.  c.,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  there  is  a well-connected 
history  of  the  rulers  of  the  Celestials.  An  interesting  fact  is  that  ancient 
Chinese  writings  speak  of  an  eclipse  calculated  in  their  country  two  thousand 
one  hundred  and  fifty-five  years  before  Christ.  The  Jesuit  missionaries, 
who  visited  China  in  the  sixteenth  century,  verified  the  calculation  of  this 
eclipse,  proving  that  it  actually  did  take  place  at  the  time  mentioned.  Ganbil, 
one  of  the  earlier  missionaries  to  China,  a man  distinguished  as  a mathema- 
tician, examined  a series  of  thirty-six  eclipses  mentioned  in  the  writings  of 
Confucius,  and  absolutely  verified  thirty-two.  While  Chinese  chronology 
extends  considerably  beyond  the  date  of  the  first-mentioned  eclipse,  it  is  so 
clouded  with  ni\qh  and  uncertainty  as  to  be  subjected  to  doubt.  From  the 
reign  of  Yao,  however,  the  record  is  complete,  and  it  is  generally  accepted 
that  a well-developed  government  existed  in  China  in  2357  B.  c. 

Yao  was  succeeded  by  Shun,  in  2255  B.  c.,  and  the  latter  b}^  Yu,  as  a 
reward  for  extraordinary  services  in  remedying  the  effects  of  the  great 
flood.  From  Yu  to  Chi-Hwang-Ti  there  were  three  dynasties — the  Hia, 
2208-1766  B.  c.  ; Shang,  1766-1122,  and  Chow,  1122  to  249  B.  c.  From 
the  abolition  of  the  feudal  system  and  the  consolidation  of  the  empire  un- 
der Chi-Hwang-Ti  down  to  the  present  dynasty,  twent3^-one  dynasties  have 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


480 


ruled  over  the  country.  The  rulers  of  the  present  or  Ta-Tsung  dynasty  are 
Manchus.  They  were  originally  called  in  to  assist  in  suppressing  the  internal 
troubles  which  threatened  the  overthrow  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  and  after  suc- 
cessfully quelling  the  turbulent  malcontents,  refused  to  withdraw,  but  pro- 
ceeded to  conquer  the  country  for  themselves. 

In  1643  they  proclaimed  the  ninth  son  of  their  own  ruler,  Tien-Ming, 
as  the  first  emperor  of  the  Ta-Tsing  dynasty,  under  the  name  of  the  Shiin- 
Chi.  In  the  following  or  K’ang-hi  period  the  empire  was  fully  consolidated, 
and  an  era  of  great  prosperity  as  well  as  literary  activit}'  inaugurated. 

The  present  sovereign,  Tsait’ien  Kwang-su,  was  born  in  1872,  and  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne  by  proclamation  at  the  death  of  Emperor  Tung-Chi 
on  January  22,  1875.  He  is  the  ninth  Emperor  of  China  of  the  Manchu 
dynasty,  and  the  period  covered  by  his  reign  will  go  down  in  history  as 
marking  the  first  opening  of  China  to  foreign  trade  and  the  introduction  of 
steam  machinery,  railways,  steamboats,  electricity,  and  the  establishment  of 
diplomatic  relations  with  the  Western  world. 

There  is  no  law  of  hereditary  succession  to  the  throne,  but  each  sov- 
ereign appoints  his  successor  from  among  the  members  of  his  family  of  a 
younger  generation  than  his  own.  Tung-Chi,  the  immediate  predecessor 
of  the  present  Emperor,  died  when  only  eighteen  years  of  age,  before  he  had 
designated  a successor,  and  it  was  in  consequence  of  arrangements  directed 
by  the  Empress  Dowager,  Tszu  Hszi,  that  the  choice  fell  upon  Kwangsu. 

Having  become  of  age,  the  young  Emperor  undertook  full  control,  but 
on  September  22,  1898,  an  imperial  edict  was  issued  announcing  that  the 
Emperor  had  resigned  power  to  the  Empress  Dowager,  who  has  since  re- 
tained direction  of  affairs.  On  January  24,  1900,  a decree  came  from  the 
Forbidden  City  declaring  Pu  Tsing,  son  of  the  Prince  of  Tuan,  as  heir  to 
the  throne.  The  father  of  this  boy,  his  tutors  and  associates,  are  members 
of  the  rabid  anti-foreign  secret  societies,  bitterly  opposed  to  the  introduction 
of  any  of  the  customs  of  the  enlightened  Western  world. 

Notwithstanding  the  natural  intelligence  of  the  Empress  Dowager, 
which  has  made  her  a formidable  antagonist  in  the  diplomatic  world  of  the 
nations,  she  is  strongly  imbued  with  all  the  superstitious  creeds  of  her  race, 
and  has  steadily  opposed  the  admission  of  foreigners  and  Western  progress. 
She  is  described  as  being  a tall,  magnificent  woman,  with  the  piercing  Tartar 
eye  and  a taste  for  archery  and  out-door  exercise,  which  she,  unfortunately, 
has  not  been  able  to  gratify  during  recent  years.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
.she  has  aided  the  many  secret  societies  which  abound  throughout  the  empire, 
for  she  is  in  thorough  sympathy  with  their  hatred  of  the  “ foreign  devils,” 


490 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


The  laws  of  the  empire  prescribe  the  government  of  the  state  to  be 
based  upon  the  government  of  the  family.  There  is  no  legislative  body  in 
China  as  with  us,  and  the  supreme  direction  of  the  empire  is  vested  in  a 
Privy  Council.  Two  Chinese  and  two  Manchus  comprise  the  four  members 
of  the  Nei  Ko,  or  cabinet,  which  has  supreme  direction  of  the  affairs  of  ad- 
ministration. In  addition  to  these  four  members,  however,  there  are  two 
assistants  from  the  Han-lin  College,  who  are  required  to  see  that  nothing  is 
done  contrary  to  the  civil  and  religious  laws  of  the  empire  or  against  the 
teachings  of  the  sacred  books  of  Confucius.  Under  their  orders  are  seven 
boards  of  government,  each  of  which  is  presided  over  by  a Manchu  and  a 
Chinese.  One  of  the  curious  institutions  of  this  remarkable  country  is  the 
Tuch-a-yueii,  or  board  of  public  censors,  which  not  onl}^  has  full  authority 
to  criticise  and  modify  the  acts  of  the  central  administration,  but  is  also 
privileged  to  remonstrate  with  the  sovereign  when  occasion  demands.  One 
censor,  at  least,  must  be  present  at  the  meetings  of  each  of  the  government 
boards.  The  Tsungli-Yaman,  or  Foreign  Office,  is  a comparatively  recent 
institution,  created  by  a decree  of  January  19,  1861,  and  comprises  among 
its  members  all  those  of  the  Council  of  State,  and  six  other  officials  of  the 
very  highest  rank.  Mr.  Alexis  Krausse,  who  has  devoted  many  years  to  the 
study  of  China,  describes  the  system  of  government  which  obtains  through- 
out the  Chinese  Empire  as  a despotism  tempered  by  philanthropy.  It  is 
modeled  on  the  idea  of  the  family,  and  the  Emperor,  who  on  the  one  hand 
is  regarded  as  the  father  of  his  people,  is  on  the  other  spoken  of  as  himself 
the  Son  of  Heaven.  No  pretense  of  divine  descent  is  involved  in  the  term 
“ Son  of  Heaven,”  which  is  used  simply  to  mark  the  fact  that  the  ruler  of  the 
Chinese  is  the  one  human  being  who  is  permitted  to  act  as  an  intermediary 
between  mankind  and  the  Deity.  He  alone  possesses  the  right  to  worship 
and  offer  sacrifice  at  the  altar  of  heaven,  which  is  jealously  guarded,  and  to 
which  no  person  except  the  Emperor  is  ever  permitted  to  have  access.  He 
is,  in  other  words,  the  head  of  the  Chinese  people  in  the  same  sense  that 
the  father  was  the  head  of  the  family  under  the  ancient  Roman  law.  In 
theor}"  he  is  the  owner  of  all  property,  and  possesses  over  ever}^  man,  woman, 
and  child  in  ChinU  the  power  of  life  and  death.  Although  every  enactment 
is  published  as  the  will  of  the  Son  of  Heaven,  there  is  a good  deal  done  with- 
out any  reference  to  the  Emperor  at  all,  and  niaii}^  of  his  ordinances  are 
allowed  to  remain  unfulfilled,  owing  to  the  exercise  of  superior  influence  by 
the  great  officers  of  state.  These  personages,  consisting  of  certain  mem- 
bers of  the  imperial  family  and  of  the  most  favored  mandarins,  have  alone 
the  right  of  access  to  the  Emperor’s  presence.  They  offer  him  advice, 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


491 


they  give  tongue  to  liis  wishes,  and  they  carr}^  into  effect  his  proclama- 
tions. 

Each  of  the  eighteen  provinces  of  China  is  ruled  by  a governor,  who 
is  responsible  to  the  Emperor  for  the  entire  administration.  It  has  not  been 
an  uncommon  event,  even  in  recent  years,  for  a delinquent  official  to  suffer 
the  loss  of  his  head  for  some  trivial  act  of  maladministration.  Notwith- 
standing this  possibility,  however,  the  position  is  ont  much  sought  after,  as 
it  offers  unlimited  opportunities  to  acquire  great  wealth. 

Li  Hung  Chang,  who  has  again  recently  distinguished  himself  as  a 
man  of  wonderful  resource,  has  at  various  times  occupied  posts  in  the 
provinces.  He  is  accounted  the  richest  man  in  the  world  to-day,  his  wealth 
being  estimated  to  be  fully  seven  hundred  millions  of  dollars. 

The  Chinese  army  is  an  imposing  affair  on  paper.  It  seems  almost 
impossible  to  obtain  any  accurate  figures  concerning  its  strength,  and  no 
two  authorities  give  the  same  figures.  The  land  forces  are  divided  into  two 
distinct  branches.  The  Eight  Banners  numerically  contain  three  hundred 
thousand  men,  descendants  of  the  Manchu  conquerors  and  their  allies. 
They  are  mostly  stationed  in  Manchuria,  and  a corps  of  specially  picked 
men,  about  four  thousand  strong,  formed  the  Imperial  Guard  in  Pekin. 
Manchu  garrisons  are  maintained  throughout  the  eighteen  provinces,  for 
the  purpose  of  repressing  any  inclination  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  to 
rebellion. 

The  second  branch  is  that  of  the  Ying  Ping,  or  National  Army,  also 
known  as  the  Army  of  the  Green  Flags.  It  consists  of  eighteen  corps,  one 
from  each  province,  and  its  nominal  strength  is  estimated  at  from  five  hun- 
dred thousand  to  six  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  men,  of  which  two  hun- 
dred thousand  are  available  for  war.  The  most  important  contingent  is  the 
Tien-tsin  Army  Corps,  about  thirty  thousand  strong,  with  modern  organiza- 
tion, drill,  and  arms,  and  are  employed  on  garrison  duty  at  Tien-tsin,  and  at 
Taku,  and  other  forts.  Besides  these  forces  are  mercenar^^  troops  raised  in 
emergencies,  which  go  to  swell  the  total  strength  of  China  on  a war  footing 
to  about  a million  men. 

Confucianism,  Buddhism,  and  Taoism  are  the  three  religions  acknowl- 
edged by  the  Chinese.  The  Emperor,  being  considered  the  sole  high  priest 
of  the  empire,  can  alone,  with  his  immediate  representatives,  perform  the 
great  religious  ceremonies.  No  ecclesiastical  hierarchy  is  maintained  at  the 
public  expense,  nor  is  there  any  priesthood  attached  to  the  Confucian  re- 
ligion, which  is  recognized  as  that  of  the  state.  Apart  from  the  periodic 
observance  of  respect  offered  to  the  memory  of  Confucius  as  the  Holy  Man 


492 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


of  Old,  and  totally  unconnected  with  it  in  any  way,  is  the  distinct  worship 
of  Heaven.  The  Emperor,  as  the  Son  of  Heaven,  worships  and  sacrifices 
every  year  at  the  time  of  the  winter  solstice  at  the  ^‘Altar  of  Heaven,”  in 
Pekin. 

The  practice  of  ancestral  worship  is  everywhere  observed,  and  the  so- 
called  religion  of  Confucianism  is  nothing  more  than  the  study  and  ccni- 
templation  of  the  anciejits  as  chronicled  by  the  great  Chinese  philosopher. 
Buddhism  and  Taoism  present  a very  gorgeous  and  elaborate  ritual,  which 
appeals  strongly  to  the  inherent  tastes  of  the  natives,  so  much  so,  in  fact^ 
that  the  great  bulk  of  the  people  are  members  of  this  sect,  though  large 
numbers  in  middle  and  southern  China  profess  and  practice  all  three  relig- 
ions. The  remarkable  strength  of  the  followers  of  Mahomet  is  further 
augmented  by  over  thirty  millions  of  Chinese,  chiefly  located  in  the  north- 
west and  southwest  of  the  empire. 

The  Jesuit  missionaries  entered  the  domains  of  the  Celestial  Empire 
early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  have  pursued  their  studies  and  teach- 
ings with  a calm  persistency,  so  that  to-da}^  it  is  estimated  there  are  over 
one  million  Roman  Catholics  in  China.  Protestant  missionaries  did  not 
follow  for  one  hundred  years  later,  or  until  about  the  beginning  of  the  pres- 
ent century,  and  then  only  in  small  numbers.  During  the  last  thirty  years, 
however,  they  have  made  determined  efforts  to  spread  the  doctrine  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  it  is  to  their  undoubted  success  in  this  direction  that  the  present 
turbulent  state  of  the  empire  is  attributed. 

The  Mongolian  is  decidedly  secretive.  Like  the  weaker  animal,  what 
he  lacks  in  courage  and  strength  is  supplied  in  a measure  with  cunning. 
The  blow  they  fear  to  strike  in  broad  glare  of  day  is  prepared  within  the 
precincts  of  their  secret  gatherings  and  falls  in  the  dark  of  night.  The 
slightest  measure  threatening  change  of  custom  or  tradition  calls  forth  the 
indignation  of  these  mysterious  bodies,  and  is  expressed  by  the  stealthy 
application  of  torch  and  secret  assassination  of  some  of  the  more  active  of 
the  promoters.  Membership  is  not  confined  to  any  particular  class,  and 
from  the  princes  of  the  royal  blood  to  the  wretched  coolie,  laboring  amid 
the  filth  of  the  city’s  streets,  may  be  found  the  moving  spirits  of  the  most 
powerful  of  their  secret  societies. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII 


THE  YEELOW  PERIE  (CONTINUED) 

The  most  formidable  of  the  many  secret  societies  checkering  the 
Chinese  empire  is  the  powerful  combination  of  the  I Ho  Chuan,  or 
Spirit  Boxers,  now  briefly  referred  to  simply  as  ‘‘  Boxers.”  It  is 
claimed  that  this  great  body  came  into  existence  more  than  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago,  to  oppose  the  usurpation  of  the  government  by  the 
Manchus,  and  it  has  so  grown  in  extent  and  numbers  that  it  is  estimated 
four  million  natives  were  in  active  membership  at  the  great  uprising  in 
June,  1900.  The  enormous  strength  of  the  society  has  been  secured  by 
appealing  to  the  known  superstitions  of  the  masses,  and  perpetuating  all 
of  the  ancient  customs  and  fables,  held  in  deepest  veneration  by  the  natives 
for  more  than  forty  centuries.  The  doctrines  of  any  sect  which  promised 
immunity  from  the  dangers  of  war  and  discomforts  of  poverty  could  not 
fail  to  attract  large  numbers.  Recruits  were  enrolled  by  the  tens  of 
thousands,  forming  a great  mass  of  willing  subjects,  eager  to  follow  the 
master  minds  which  led  them. 

The  doctrines  of  Christianity  are  so  altogether  antagonistic  to  the 
cherished  ideals  of  Chinese  tradition  that  the  work  of  Christianizing  that 
great  country  seems  to  be  a hopeless  task.  It  is  claimed  that  the  telegraph 
and  steam  engine  are  the  most  effective  emissaries  of  the  Christian  Church, 
and  the  opening  up  of  China  during  the  last  decade  to  these  two  products 
of  Western  progress  has  been  of  the  most  material  assistance  to  the  mis- 
sionaries at  work  in  that  country.  Every  slight  success  of  these  zealous 
Christians  was  watched  by  evil  eyes,  and  every  now  and  then  an  edict  went 
forth  from  some  one  of  the  secret  bodies,  calling  for  the  destruction  of  a 
mission  and  its  inmates.  Every  act  of  a foreigner,  whether  it  was  that  of 
an  earnest  endeavor  to  Christianize  a heathen,  heal  the  sick,  or  lay  the 
foundation  for  the  mighty  steel  railways  destined  to  cross  that  country, 
formed  a subject  capable  of  evil  construction  calculated  to  fire  still  further 
the  minds  of  the  ignorant  natives. 


493 


494 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


The  extent  of  the  evil  following  this  practice  may  be  estimated  from 
an  incident  in  connection  with  the  loss  of  a number  of  children  in  the 
province  of  Chihli  just  prior  to  the  great  uprising.  At  that  time  the 
European  engineers  engaged  in  the  construction  of  the  Mangokew  railwa}^ 
were  working  upon  one  of  the  large  bridges,  and  leaders  of  the  ‘‘  Boxers  ” 
went  among  the  people,  explaining  that  the  foreign  devils  were  in  the  habit 
of  placing  children  in  the  foundations  of  the  bridge  piers,  for  the  purpose 
of  overcoming  the  evil  influence  of  spirits  opposed  to  them.  The  eJffect  of 
this  ingenious  statement,  explaining  the  disappearance  of  the  children, 
was  terrifying.  Beginning  with  the  lamentations  of  the  parents  of  the  lost 
ones,  it  was  taken  up  by  the  members  of  the  family  and  spread  with  great 
rapidity  from  one  village  to  another,  and  the  little  crowd  of  Europeans 
escaped  annihilation  only  by  flight. 

Similar  efforts  to  inflame  the  native  mind  against  the  foreigners  have 
been  constant,  so  that  assaults  upon  isolated  missions  grew  more  common. 
Successful  in  these  cowardly  attacks,  their  belief  in  the  infallibility  of  their 
leaders,  and  of  their  own  immunity  from  danger,  became  more  steadfast, 
and  they  perpetrated  their  depredations  with  increasing  boldness.  The 
iiiovement  grew  with  so  much  haste  that  in  the  early  part  of  June,  1900, 
Minister  Conger  advised  the  United  States  Government  that  “ outside  of 
Pekin  the  murder  and  persecutions  by  the  Boxers  seem  to  be  on  the  in- 
crease, and  that  the  Chinese  Government  seems  either  unwilling  or  unable  to 
suppress  the  trouble.”  Work  on  the  Pao  Ting  Fne  railway  was  abandoned, 
and  the  Europeans  engaged  in  the  construction  of  the  Pekin  and  Mango- 
kew road  were  compelled  to  flee  to  the  capital.  Native  troops  were  called 
out  to  suppress  the  growing  rebellion,  but  both  officers  and  men  showed  no 
energy  in  attacking  the  Boxers.  In  the  province  of  Shantung,  however,  the 
murderous  propensities  of  the  society  were  given  full  sway,  and  many  acts 
of  horrible  cruelty  were  committed,  finally  culminating  in  the  destruction 
of  the  Jesuit  mission,  the  massacre  of  the  Fathers  and  over  three  hun- 
dred native  converts  who  had  sought  asylum  within  the  walls  of  the 
mission. 

News  of  the  success  of  these  outrages  spread  with  glowing  elaboration 
to  the  adjoining  province  of  Chihli,  and  the  fire  of  rebellion  spread  through- 
out that  district  right  up  to  the  walls  of  the  capital  city. 

The  apathy  of  the  Chinese  soldiers,  and  the  undoubted  support  of  the 
Empress  Dowager  and  Prince  Tuan,  gave  a wonderful  impetus  to  the  move- 
ment. Prince  Tuan  had  for  some  time  openly  antagonized  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  foreigners,  and  had  bitterly  opposed  every  concession  made  to 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


495 


them  in  recent  3^ears.  The  Empress  Dowager  had  been  known  to  be  in 
sympatliy  with  the  Boxer  movement  for  several  ^^ears,  but  it  was  not  until 
General  Nieh,  in  command  of  the  troops  operating  between  Tien-tsin  and 
Pekin,  had  been  pnblicl}^  reprimanded  for  firing  upon  the  Boxers  who  were 
destroying  the  railway  and  committing  other  depredations,  that  it  became 
generally  known  of  her  intention  to  support  the  uprising.  This  one  inci- 
dent was  sufficient  indication  to  the  astute  Chinese  officers  of  the  part  the}" 
were  expected  to  play,  so  that  when  the  Boxers  clamored  at  the  gates  of 
Pekin,  the  resistance  made  by  the  Chinese  forces,  and  especially  that  of  the 
famed  Imperial  Guard,  was  simply  farcical. 

The  foreign  ministers  in  Pekin,  together  with  their  families,  attaches, 
and  guards,  numbered  about  six  hundred  men,  women,  and  children.  Their 
condition  at  this  time  became  critical.  Outside  of  the  walls  of  the  Imperial 
City  vast  crowds  from  the  populous  Chinese  and  Tartar  cities,  augmented 
by  the  hordes  from  the  provinces,  presented  a seething,  shrieking  mass  of 
delirious  humanity,  crying  for  the  destruction  of  the  legations,  the  death  of 
the  foreign  ministers,  and  that  of  every  hated  European  within  the  confines 
of  the  ancient  walls  of  the  capital.  It  was  not  expected  that  this  turbulent 
mass  could  be  prevented  from  entering  the  inclosure  of  the  Imperial  City 
for  man}^  hours.  Already  small  parties  of  the  anti-foreign  mob  had  been 
found  within  the  walls,  and  were  to  be  seen  scurrying  away  in  all  directions, 
scenting  the  feast  of  carnage  to  follow. 

On  June  lo  the  Chancellor  of  the  Japanese  Legation  and  an  attache 
were  attacked  in  the  streets  by  soldiers  comprising  the  body-guard  of  the 
Empress  Dowager,  and  literally  hacked  to  pieces.  The  following  day,  two 
officers  from  the  British  Legation  were  similarly  attacked,  but,  fortunatel}^, 
were  able  to  effect  a retreat  under  cover  of  their  own  revolvers,  which  they 
used  with  deadl}^  result  to  their  assailants.  On  the  same  da}"  the  Boxers 
looted  and  fired  the  summer  quarters  of  the  British  Minister,  situated  about 
fifteen  miles  from  Pekin.  These  outrages,  following  so  quickly  one  upon 
the  other,  caused  considerable  uneasiness  among  the  Legationers.  On  June 
12  they  joined  in  a demand  to  the  Tsungli-Yanian  that  they  be  accorded 
the  strong  protection  of  the  Imperial  Government  at  once.  A reply  was 
received  suggesting  that  the  ministers  might  be  more  comfortable  in  Tien- 
tsin, and  that  a guard  to  accompany  them  to  that  city  would  be  furnished 
by  the  Emperor.  Compliance  with  this  suggestion  meant  a certain,  horrible 
death,  so  that  an  indignant  refusal  was  communicated  to  the  Chinese  Foreign 
Office.  The  day  following  this  action  of  the  ministers  the  German  envoy, 
Baron  von  Ketteler,  determined  to  make  a strong  personal  appeal  for  pro- 


496 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


tectiou  of  the  foreign  residents,  and  it  was  while  on  his  way  to  the  palace  of 
the  Tsungli-Yanian  that  he  was  set  upon  and  foully  assassinated  by  a mob 
made  up  of  members  of  secret  societies  and  imperial  yeomanry.  This  out- 
rage, coupled  with  the  apathy  of  the  Foreign  Office,  aroused  the  Legationers 
to  a sterner  sense  of  the  peril  which  threatened,  and  they  at  once  began 
active  preparations  to  fortify  themselves  against  the  attacks  of  the  Chinese. 
The  many  strong  buildings  of  the  British  legation,  providentially  situated 
farthest  from  the  city  walls,  upon  which  the  Mongols  had  alread}^  planted 
cannon,  afforded  a stronger  place  of  defense  than  that  of  any  of  the  other 
legation  buildings.  It  was  here  the  little  force  of  Americans  and  Europeans 
accumnlated  their  valuables,  massed  their  stores  and  ammunition,  and  gen- 
erally fortified  themselves  to  withstand  a siege,  the  length  of  which  they 
knew  not. 

These  preparations  did  not  pass  unnoticed  by  the  Chinese,  who,  seeing^ 
the  hated  foreigners  in  a state  of  readiness  to  defend  themselves,  independ- 
ently of  the  Imperial  Government,  began  on  June  13,  1900,  to  bombard 
the  handsome  buildings  of  the  foreign  envoys  on  Legation  Street.  The 
great  walls  of  the  British  legation,  of  which  there  were  no  less  than  ten,.' 
some  of  them  three  feet  in  thickness,  well  sustained  the  shock  of  the  shells 
which  the  Chinese  poured  in.  The  bomb-proofs  constructed  within  the 
grounds,  afforded  protection  to  the  women  and  children,  while  the  men  gal- 
lantly worked  the  rapid-fire  guns  from  the  legation  walls,  or  “ potted  ” the 
more  daring  of  the  Boxers  ” who  threatened  to  storm  their  position. 

In  the  meantime  reports  of  the  serious  conditions  prevailing  in  the 
Empire  had  reached  the  civilized  world.  The  murder  of  missionaries  had 
been  reported  with  so  much  frequency  that  news  of  fresh  outrages  failed  to 
arouse  much  interest.  The  killing  of  the  Japanese  Chancellor  was  attrib- 
uted to  the  natural  ill-feeling  existing  between  the  Chinese  and  Japanese. 
The  report  of  the  assassination  of  the  German  Minister  brought  every 
Government  to  its  feet,  but  it  was  Minister  Conger’s  terrifying  mes- 
sage that  “ the}^  were  in  the  British  legation,  under  continued  shot  and 
shell  from  Chinese  troops  ” that  caused  a tremor  of  horror  to  convulse  the 
people  of  the  world,  and  demanded  vigorous  preparations  for  the  swift  rescue 
of  the  besieged.  Russia  and  Japan  hurried  large  numbers  of  troops  to  the 
Pei-ho  country,  and  the  United  States  detached  5,000  troops  from  the 
Philippines  to  the  China  service.  Prior  to  this,  however.  Minister  Conger, 
had  commnnicated  with  Capt.  McCalla,  of  the  Newark,”  then  lying  off 
Taku,  to  send  a strong  guard  to  Pekin.  The  American  officer  at  once  began 
the  necessary  arrangements,  in  which  he  was  joined  by  the  naval  officers  of 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


497 


the  European  men-of-war  in  port.  Some  doubt  was  expressed  of  the  success 
of  au  expedition,  but  Capt.  McCalla  silenced  all  argument  by  the  simple, 
bluff  statement,  characteristic  of  the  Americans,  that  “ My  Minister  wires 
he  is  in  danger,  and  I am  going  through  to  his  aid.” 

Admiral  Seymour,  of  the  British  Navy,  signified  his  intention  to  make 
the  effort  also,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  his  force  was  so  much  larger 
than  that  of  the  Americans,  the  expedition  was  placed  under  his  command. 

This  decisive  action  on  the  part  of  the  Americans  and  British  had  de- 
termined the  others  to  go  also.  The  Germans  and  Russians  landed  parties 
at  Tongku,  and  the  others  sent  detachments  from  the  guards  they  had 
already  established  at  Tien-tsiii.  The  British  train  left  Tien-tsin  on  the 
morning  of  June  lo.  It  was  designated  afterward  as  train  No.  i.  There 
were  British  sailormen  and  marines  and  112  American  sailormen  on  it.  Two 
other  trains  started  that  day,  one  known  as  train  No.  2,  with  more  British, 
and  the  Austrians  and -Italians  and  Japanese.  Train  No.  3 brought  the  rest 
of  the  British  and  the  Germans.  On  the  next  day  the  Russians  and  French 
started  out  in  a train  by  themselves,  known  afterward  as  train  No.  4.  The 
total  force  was  : British,  915  ; Americans,  112  ; Italians,  40  ; Austrians,  25  ; 
French,  100;  Germans,  450  ; Russians,  112,  and  Japanese,  54.  The  British 
had  three  nine-pounder  muzzle-loaders,  three  Maxims  and  three  Nordenfeldts. 
The  Americans  had  the  three-inch  field  gun  from  the  Newark,”  and  a Colt 
automatic.  The  Russians  had  a field  gun  and  the  Italians  a machine  gun. 
The  Germans  had  two  machine  guns,  and  on  a truck  ahead  of  the  engine  of 
their  first  train  the  British  had  mounted  a six-pounder  Hotchkiss  quick- 
firing  rifle. 

From  Tien-tsin  to  Lofa  the  trip  progressed  smoothly,  but  at  the  latter 
place  the  Boxers  had  torn  up  the  rails,  destroyed  the  water  tower,  and 
did  other  damage  to  the  road,  which  caused  a delay  of  nearly  six  hours. 
It  was  while  one  train  was  going  ahead  making  the  necessar}^  repairs  on  the 
evening  of  June  10,  that  a cry  went  up  from  the  workmen  that  the  Boxers 
were  approaching.  They  were  coming  down  the  track  at  a double-quick,  an 
irregular  moving  mass  of  red  figures,  with  their  queues  trailing  in  the  wind 
and  brandishing  large  swords  and  spears  gayly  decorated  with  their  chosen 
color  of  red.  It  was  the  first  time  the  troops  of  so  many  nations  had  been 
called  upon  to  fight  against  a common  enemy,  and  in  the  excitement  that 
followed  the  appearance  of  the  Boxers,  orders  were  given  in  so  many  differ- 
ent languages,  the  natural  result  was  more  or  less  confusion.  Fortunately 
the  Boxers  stopped  when  about  two  hundred  3^ards  awa^Ho  indulge  in  some 
of  the  exercises  necessary  to  insure  their  being  perfectl}^  invulnerable  to  the 


498 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


bullets  of  the  foreigners,  and  this  ridiculous  ceremony  gave  the  allies  ample 
time  to  form  and  charge.  The  fight  was  brief  The  Americans  and 
Europeans  sent  in  a volley  among  the  grotesque  figures  kowtowing  before 
them,  with  awful  effect,  and  the  Boxers  fled,  shrieking  as  the}^  went,  and 
leaving  thirty-five  of  their  number  dead  and  wounded.  Every  part  of  the 
way  from  Eofa  to  Yangtsun  was  contested  in  this  way,  so  that  with  the 
repairing  of  the  railway  and  skirmishes  with  the  harassing  Boxers,  seven 
days  were  required  in  making  a distance  of  less  than  eighteen  miles. 

On  June  17th  a runner  came  in  with  the  news  that  the  Boxers  had 
appeared  in  force  in  the  rear  of  the  allies,  and  several  large  camps  of  Gen- 
eral Nieh’s  troops  had  also  been  seen  to  the  east.  Communication  with 
Tien-tsin  had  been  cut  off,  and  progress  toward  Pekin  by  rail  was  out  of  the 
question.  A conference  of  the  officers  was  held,  and  it  was  agreed  to  fall 
back  to  Tien-tsin,  and  there  await  reinforcements.  The  trip  back  was 
begun  on  the  afternoon  of  the  19th,  the  American  troops,  with  their  Colt’s 
rapid-fire  gun,  leading  the  way  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Pei-ho  River.  A 
number  of  native  junks  were  impressed  for  carrying  supplies,  but  the  field 
pieces  had  to  be  dragged  along  by  hand. 

Along  the  Pei-ho  River,  above  Tien-tsin,  the  villages  are  continuous, 
barely  one-half  mile  apart,  so  that  the  retreat  was  marked  with  a steady 
resistance,  during  which  the  allies  suffered  considerable  loss.  Notwithstand- 
ing this,  they  bravely  forced  their  way  through,  carrying  the  wounded,  pro- 
tecting supplies,  and  gradually  overcoming  the  determined  resistance  of  the 
natives.  A gallant  attack  on  Hsi-ku  arsenal,  a few  miles  above  Tien-tsin, 
resulted  in  the  capture  of  that  place,  and  proved  to  be  the  most  important 
piece  of  work  accomplished  by  the  expedition.  The  Chinese  had  massed 
great  quantities  of  stores  here,  including  a number  of  heavy  field  pieces, 
thousands  of  modern  rifles,  and  tons  of  powder  and  shell.  A large 
amount  of  provisions,  including  the  staple  of  the  country,  rice,  was  also  dis- 
covered. Admiral  Seymour  was  very  much  elated  over  this  capture,  and  as 
the  city  of  Tien-tsin  could  be  seen  only  a few  miles  away,  a camp  was  formed 
outside  the  walls  of  the  arsenal,  and  the  men  ordered  to  take  a much- 
needed  rest.  They  were  not  allowed  to  secure  very  much  comfort,  however, 
for  within  a few  hours  the  Chinese  appeared  with  reinforcements  numbering 
fully  five  thousand  native  troops,  well  armed,  and  provided  with  field  pieces, 
from  which  they  fired  shrapnel.  The  allies  withdrew  to  the  arsenal,  at  once 
mounted  the  heavy  guns  of  the  Chinese,  and  proceeded  to  give  them  a 
dose  of  their  own  medicine,”  as  Captain  McCalla  laughingly  remarked. 
The  Chinese  were  not  slow  in  responding,  and,  seeing  their  advantage,  the 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


499 


commander  disposed  of  his  troops  to  surround  the  building,  and  other  rein- 
forcements arriving  from  the  direction  of  Tien-tsin,  retreat  was  absolutely 
cut  off.  The  expedition  was  in  a more  serious  predicament  than  any  that 
had  as  yet  confronted  them.  Efforts  to  notify  the  Europeans  in  Tien-tsin 
of  their  condition,  by  means  of  rocket  signals,  were  unsuccessful,  but,  after 
the  third  da}^  of  the  siege,  a native  boy  went  through  the  lines  with  a mes- 
sage to  the  admirals  in  Tien-tsin,  and  from  that  time  relief  was  expected  at 
any  moment.  It  was  not  until  the  following  day,  however,  that  the  look- 
out reported  the  approach  of  a body  of  men  in  white  tunics,  which  proved 
to  be  the  Russian  advance  guard  of  the  relieving  column.  A man  separated 
himself  from  this  number,  crossed  the  river,  and  hurriedly  made  his  way  to 
the  arsenal.  It  was  Lieutenant  Leonard,  of  the  American  Marine  Corps, 
the  first  to  bring  the  joyful  news  of  relief.  Marines  and  sailors  thronged 
the  walls  and  cheered  the  moving  force  as  it  approached,  and  as  the  sound 
was  carried  across  the  Pei-ho,  answering  cheers  came  back,  gladdening  alike 
the  hearts  of  American  and  Italian,  French  and  British. 

It  was  determined  to  evacuate  the  arsenal  as  soon  as  possible,  but  before 
doing  so,  it  was  necessary  to  destroy  the  vast  stores  of  munitions  of  war, 
and  preparations  to  this  end  were  carried  on  all  during  the  night.  Early 
the  following  morning,  everything  being  in  readiness,  the  allies  marched 
forth,  and  as  the  last  line  passed  the  gate  a thread  of  smoke  ascended  in 
the  soft  spring  air.  Gradually  it  increased  in  volume  as  the  fire  spread 
within,  until  it  hovered  over  the  forbidding  walls  of  the  arsenal  in  a 
dense  black  cloud.  A moment  later  this  blackness  was  lighted  by  a flash 
of  fire,  and  then  the  air  was  rent  by  an  explosion  so  terrific  that  it  was  heard 
for  miles  away.  The  destruction  was  complete,  and  all  to  be  seen  of  more 
than  twenty  million  dollars  worth  of  stores  was  a dense  gray  cloud  floating 
away  toward  the  north.  The  further  progress  of  the  allies  was  not  inter- 
rupted, and  on  June  26th  Admiral  Seymour  and  Captain  McCalla  entered  the 
native  city  of  Tien-tsin. 

While  Seymour  was  endeavoring  to  force  his  way  to  Pekin,  the  fleet  of 
the  allies,  lying  off  the  bar  at  Taku,  were  watching  the  movements  of  the 
governor  of  the  three  forts,  commanding  the  mouth  of  the  Pei-ho  River  at  that 
place.  It  was  noticed  that  the  Chinese  had  been  planting  torpedoes  in  the 
river,  and  were  calling  in  large  bodies  of  troops  from  Shang-Hei-Kwan  and 
the  adjoining  provinces.  Interpreting  these  acts  as  indicative  of  hostility, 
the  foreign  commanders  met  on  the  Russian  flagship  and  addressed  an 
ultimatum  to  the  commander  of  the  forts,  demanding  that  the  Chinese 
troops  be  disbanded,  and  if  this  was  not  done  before  two  o’clock  of  the  fol- 


500 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


lowing  day,  the  united  fleet  would  bombard  the  forts.  The  Chinese  gover- 
nor, however,  determined  to  precipitate  matters,  and  shortly  after  midnight 
of  the  same  day,  June  i6th,  suddenly  opened  fire  upon  the  ships,  several  of 
which  sustained  damages. 

Russian,  French,  British,  and  Japanese  war  ships  returned  the  fire, 
blowing  up  two  of  the  forts,  and  killing  a great  number  of  the  Chinese. 

Some  hours  later,  a landing  part}^  carried  the  remaining  fortress 
by  assault,  and  the  flags  of  the  allies  were  planted  on  the  ruins.  The 
Americans  did  not  take  any  part  in  the  engagement.  Admiral  Remey,  in 
command  of  the  United  States  naval  forces,  declined  to  sign  the  ultimatum 
or  support  the  movement.  In  view  of  subsequent  events  and  the  claim  of 
the  Chinese  Government  that  hostilities  were  inaugurated  by  the  allies  when 
the  admirals  presented  their  demand  to  the  commandant  of  the  Taku  forts, 
the  wisdom  and  courage  of  the  American  naval  oflicer  stands  out  in  brilliant 
contrast  with  that  of  the  more  impetuous  commanders  of  the  European 
vessels. 

The  necessity  for  a large  force  became  apparent  almost  immediately 
after  the  failure  of  the  Seymour  relief  expedition,  when  the  depredations  by 
the  Boxers  assumed  an  extent  not  hitherto  known.  The  uprising  of  the 
mystic  body  became  more  general.  Boxers  appeared  in  South  Manchuria. 
The  Catholic  missions  in  Shantung  were  destroyed,  and  a wholesale  mas- 
sacre of  Christian  and  native  converts  followed.  Far  to  the  south  along 
the  populous  Yangtse  valley,  missionaries  were  attacked  and  subjected  to 
revolting  cruelties.  To  the  north  the  infection  spread  with  alarming 
rapidity,  even  extending  to  the  former  dependency  of  Korea.  The  courage 
of  the  mob  reached  its  highest  point,  however,  when,  on  Juh^  15th,  a 
Chinese  force  invaded  Russian  territory  and  bombarded  Blagovenschensk, 
the  capital  of  the  Russian  province  of  Amur.  Two  days  later  Russia 
declared  that  a state  of  war  existed  in  those  provinces  where  the  Chinese 
had  destroyed  railroads  and  murdered  Russian  officials.  Chinese  soldiers 
were  flocking  to  the  red  banners  of  the  Boxers,  and  from  Pekin  came 
Conger’s  historic  message,  written  on  the  anniversary  of  the  independence 
of  the  United  States,  and  sending  a thrill  throughout  the  world. 

‘‘July  4th. 

“ Been  besieged  two  weeks  in  British  legation.  Grave  danger  of  gen- 
eral massacre  by  Chinese  soldiers,  who  are  shelling  the  legations  daily. 
Relief  soon,  if  at  all.  City  without  government,  except  by  Chinese  army. 
Determined  to  massacre  all  foreigners. 


“ Conger.” 


CHAPTER  XLIX 

THE  YELEOW  PERIL  (CONCLUDED) 

The  effect  of  Minister  Conger’s  message  was  startling.  Isolated  cases 
of  murder  and  arson  among  a people  bitterly  opposed  to  foreign  in- 
trusion were  accepted  as  a condition  for  which  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment was  only  partly  to  blame.  That  the  Empress  Dowager  should  dare  to 
attempt  the  wholesale  massacre  of  the  representatives  of  the  earth’s 
greatest  powers  was  an  act  so  thrilling  in  its  violent  treachery  that  the 
whole  civilized  world  was  aghast  at  the  audacity  of  a government  it  had 
previously  held  in  utmost  contempt. 

The  ministers  could  hold  out  for  a fortnight  longer  ! It  seemed  impos- 
sible that  the  international  forces  could  in  that  time  make  the  march  from 
Taku  to  Pekin,  over  a country  sure  to  be  contested  mile  by  mile.  The 
destruction  of  the  railroad  and  probability  of  the  inundation  of  the  land 
from  the  canals  above,  which  form  a part  of  the  defense  of  the  capital  city, 
added  to  the  uncertainty.  In  a short  time  might}^  battleships,  convoying 
huge  vessels  of  stores,  and  hundreds  of  troopships,  loaded  down  with  the 
armies  of  the  world,  were  speeding  toward  the  far-off  Taku  bar,  and  the 
relief  of  the  Legationers. 

On  to  Pekin  1 In  Washington  and  Vienna,  St.  Petersburg  and 
London,  Paris  and  Tokio,  the  same  cry  went  up — “ On  to  Pekin  !”  The 
yellow  peril  which  for  ages  had  lurked  behind  its  ancient  walls,  successfully 
overcoming  the  efforts  of  individual  powers  by  cunning  and  deceit,  was 
about  to  feel  the  full  weight  of  the  despised  Occidentals  and  make  heavy 
reparation  for  the  indignities  it  had  heaped  upon  their  representatives. 
Emperor  William,  Germany’s  war-lord,  personally  attended  the  departure 
of  his  contingent  of  the  international  army.  During  a stirring  address  he 
presented  a royal  banner  to  the  troops  and  charged  them  to  place  it  above 
tlie  palace  of  the  Chinese  Emperor  in  Pekin,  as  unsullied  as  at  the  moment 
it  passed  into  their  hands.  “ Show  no  quarter,  make  no  captives,  and  for 

501 


502 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


every  son  of  Germany  slain,  a Chinese  city  must  be  razed  to  the  ground  1” 
It  was  with  the  significant  words  of  this  impassioned  speech  ringing  in 
their  ears  that  the  German  forces  departed  for  the  seat  of  the  coming 
struggle. 

In  the  meantime  the  situation  of  the  Legationers  was  one  of  extreme 
desperation.  The  buildings  of  the  German,  French,  Dutch,  Austrian,  and 
Japanese  legations  had  yielded  to  the  terrific  bombardment  of  the  imperial 
guns,  and  lay  a mass  of  smoking  ruins.  The  walls  of  the  British  legation 
still  withstood  the  force  of  the  enemy,  but  the  besieged  were  unable  to  relax 
their  vigilance  for  a single  moment.  Ammunition  and  food  were  running 
low,  and  both  were  harbored  with  the  greatest  care.  Not  knowing  when  the 
banners  of  the  allies  might  be  seen  from  without  the  city’s  walls,  the  utmost 
economy  prevailed.  The  live  stock,  including  the  ponies,  was  killed  and 
eaten,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  children,  all  were  placed  upon  limited 
rations.  Every  day,  despite  the  vigilance  of  the  prisoners,  new  forms  took 
their  places  on  improvised  cots  ranged  along  the  hallways  of  the  buildings, 
where  the  noble  women  of  the  party  tenderl}^  nursed  the  wounded  back  to 
health,  or  softly  closed  the  eyes  of  some  poor  fellow  whose  life  went  out  in 
their  defense.  The  acts  of  devotion,  self-sacrifice,  and  heroism  performed 
within  that  living  hell,  have  so  endeared  the  survivors  to  one  another,  that 
their  names  and  faces  are  engraved  upon  the  memory  of  each  so  indelibly, 
that  neither  time  nor  future  horrors  can  ever  eradicate  them. 

While  the  Legationers  were  thus  bravely  resisting  the  efforts  of  the 
Chinese  to  effect  their  annihilation,  the  allies  had  landed  their  advance 
force  and  at  once  prepared  to  make  the  march  upon  Tien-tsin  to  relieve  the 
foreigners  in  duress  there.  The  Chinese  were  fully  advised  of  tlie 
approach  of  this  force,  and  within  the  walls  of  the  city  proper  had  accu- 
mnlated  immense  stores  of  ammnnition  and  supplies,  well  prepared  to 
withstand  a long  siege  or  vigorous  assault.  It  was  estimated  that  they  had 
fully  fifty  thousand  fighting  men,  including  General  Nieh’s  force  of  twelve 
thousand;  fifteen  hundred  of  Yuan  Shi  Kai’s  foreign  drilled  men  ; seven 
thousand  trained  men  of  Tnng  Fu  Shan’s,  and  the  bands  of  militiamen, 
mercenaries,  and  Boxers.  Heavy  guns  were  mounted  upon  the  walls,  and 
the  towers  above  each  of  the  four  great  double  gates  piercing  the  walls  at 
each  side  had  been  greatly  strengthened  and  fortified  to  resist  entrance  to 
the  city. 

Against  this  strength  of  the  Celestials  the  Russians  presented  five 
thousand  men.  The  British  placed  fifteen  hundred  men  in  the  field,  made 
up  of  Puujaubs,  Pathans,  Chinese  from  Wei-hai-wei,  and  Royal  Welsh 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


503 


Fusiliers.  The  French  contributed  about  the  same  number  of  marine 
infantry,  and  the  Germans  four  hundred  sailors.  The  Austrians  mustered 
only  twenty-five  men,  and  the  Americans  put  forward  a battalion  of 
marines  and  two  battalions  of  the  famous  Ninth  Infantr}^  fresh  from  their 
successes  in  the  Philippines,  while  the  Japanese  added  three  thousand  oi 
the  bravest  little  fighters  who  ever  went  out  to  battle. 

Tien-tsin,  like  other  Chinese  cities,  is  enclosed  by  a wall  twenty-five 
feet  high,  and  about  twenty  feet  thick  at  the  top,  faced  on  both  sides  with 
brick,  and  the  space  filled  in  with  mud  and  broken  stone.  The  parapet 
is  of  brick,  thick  and  strong,  and  loopholed  for  rifles  as  well  as  having  em- 
brasures for  guns.  In  the  centre  of  each  wall  is  a huge  gate  and  at  each 
corner  is  a tower,  as  well  as  over  each  gate.  The  gates  are  double,  and  that 
at  the  south  is  also  protected  by  a half-moon  extension  outside  the  wall  after 
the  fashion  of  the  Pekin  gates.  Outside  the  wall  are  great  numbers  of  mud 
huts  and  some  more  substantial  brick  and  stone  structures.  To  the  south- 
ward, along  the  river  toward  the  concessions,  these  huts  form  practically  a 
continuous  village  up  to  the  settlements.  To  the  east,  across  the  river  and 
the  canal,  there  are  more  large  buildings.  There  is  the  yanien  of  the  Vice- 
roy and  the  fort  which  is  called  ‘‘  Pagoda,”  from  the  fact  that  it  stands  near 
a tall  pagoda  which  the  Chinese  have  used  as  a watch  and  signal  tower 
throughout  .the  fighting.  Farther  to  the  east  again,  where  the  railroad 
crosses  the  river,  is  the  battery  under  the  trees  which  caused  much 
trouble.  In  the  city,  to  the  eastward  of  the  south  gate,  there  is  an  arsenal 
and  armory  stuffed  with  munitions  of  war,  the  destruction  or  capture  of 
which  the  allies  deemed  of  the  utmost  importance. 

It  had  been  arranged  that  the  attempt  to  take  the  city  should  be  made 
at  dawn  on  the  morning  of  July  13.  The  force  was  divided  so  as  to  attack 
the  city  on  both  sides  at  the  same  time,  and  at  half-past  four  in  the  morn- 
ing a single  roar  went  out  from  the  big  field  piece  of  the  French  marines, 
and  the  bombardment  was  on.  The  Chinese  were  awake,  however,  and 
replied  with  telling  effect.  I\Ien  and  mules  began  to  fall  in  the  ranks  of  the 
Internationals,  and  now  and  then  a blaze  of  fire  shot  up  from  within  the 
walls,  showing  where  the  shells  of  the  allies  had  done  their  work. 

Out  on  the  right  the  four-inch  rifles  of  the  British,  and  the  mountain 
batteries  of  the  French  and  Russians  were  endeavoring  to  destroy  a formid- 
able Chinese  battery  placed  under  a clump  of  trees  near  the  railroad  track. 
The  duel  between  the  batteries  had  been  continued  for  fully  a half  hour 
without  perceptible  damage  upon  either  side,  when  finally  the  French 
gunners  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  range,  and  planted  a shell  in  the  oppos- 


504 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


ing  battery.  A terrific  explosion  shook  the  earth,  shattering  hnndreds  of 
the  mud  huts  along  the  river  front,  and  the  magazine  of  the  Chinese  was 
blown  heavenward,  a cloud  of  smoke  and  dust.  While  this  was  in  progress 
the  guns  to  the  west  were  fiercely  attacking  the  walls  and  the  pagoda  fort 
just  without,  under  cover  of  which  the  men  closed  up  in  three  columns. 
The  British  marched  up  to  a point  just  below  the  west  arsenal;  the 
Americans  passed  them,  and  took  up  their  position  about  five  hundred 
yards  in  advance,  while  the  Japanese  went  five  hundred  ^^ards  still  further 
beyond  the  Americans. 

The  allies  had  scarcely  taken  np  their  position  when  the  Chinese  opened 
on  them  from  the  walls  and  pagoda  fort,  and  poured  a perfect  torrent  of  shot 
and  shell  among  the  advancing  forces.  The  latter  continued  to  make  for 
their  objective  point,  the  arsenal,  but  at  each  step  the  fire  from  the  Chinese 
became  hotter  and  hotter.  Men  began  to  drop  in  every  line.  Standing  in 
the  tall  green  grass,  with  the  bright  sunlight  beaming  down  upon  them,  they 
presented  a target  the  enemy  could  not  miss.  Shells  dropped  among  them, 
and  with  every  explosion  some  poor  fellow  dropped  down  in  the  grass  to 
wait  the  stretcher  bearers,  who  had  alread}^  begun  their  work.  There 
was  no  check  in  the  movement,  however,  and  the  Japs  were  already  across 
the  rickety  structure  bridging  the  canal  and  close  to  the  mud  walls, 
where  they  were  protected  from  the  deadly  fire  of  the  enemy.  The 
Americans  were  not  far  behind  the  active  Japs,  bringing  along  their 
wounded  as  they  came,  while  the  French  and  British  gained  the  same  pro- 
tection an  honr  later. 

From  this  position  the  guns  were  posted  to  shell  the  city  wall,  while 
the  different  infantry  forces  strung  out  waiting  for  the  artillery  to  make  a 
breach  through  which  they  might  charge.  The  ancient  walls  withstood  this 
fierce  fire  for  over  an  hour  without  showing  indications  of  weakening,  and 
the  allies  then  decided  to  attempt  the  assault  upon  the  gates  without  further 
waste  of  time.  When  the  order  came  for  the  advance,  a regiment  of  Japanese, 
dressed  in  white,  with  blue  cloth  haversacks  rolled  about  their  shoulders, 
formed  in  columns  of  four,  and  at  the  word  of  command  went  down  the  hard 
yellow  road  with  a rush.  As  the  Japanese  swung  well  out  into  the  open  the 
marines  and  Fusiliers  came  around  the  mud  wall,  onl}^  to  be  met  by  a fusil- 
ade  from  the  Chinese,  who  were  dropping  their  shells  close  in,  and  hitting 
the  men.  Undeterred,  however,  they  swung  out  into  the  road,  followed 
by  the  Americans  and  French. 

Out  on  the  sun-baked  path  a column  of  little  men  in  white  are  moving 
forward,  and  every  now  and  then  one  of  them  falls  and  drops  out.  Behind 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


505 


these  come  a loping  column  of  big  fellows  in  faded  blue  and  white  helmets^ 
and  it  is  known  the  French  are  going  in.  Next  came  the  British,  big, 
lusty  chaps  in  dark  blue,  with  straw  hats ; brisk  sailormen  from  Her 
Majesty’s  ships  off  Takii,  and  marines  in  khaki.  Then  follow  the 
Americans  in  their  warm  dark  blue  uniforms,  swinging  along  with  squared 
shoulders  and  active  step,  with  never  a nod  nor  a falter  from  the  missiles 
falling  among  them.  The  Japs  have  already  reached  a point  opposite  the 
west  gate,  and  are  waiting  for  the  others  to  come  up,  preparatory  to  the 
combined  attack.  They  had  not  long  to  wait.  The  men  were  eager  for 
the  assault,  and  manifested  impatience  at  the  delay  the  officers  thought 
necessary.  Action  was  soon  ordered,  however,  and  once  more  the  brave  little  ^ 
Japanese  led  the  way  in.  The  fire  from  the  Chinese  stationed  in  the  tower 
above  the  gate,  and  of  those  along  the  walls,  was  simply  terrific.  Twice 
were  the  little  fellows  beaten  back.  French  and  British  and  Americans 
joined  with  them  to  make  for  the  gate,  but  there  was  no  abatement  in  the 
fire  of  the  enemy,  and  men  fell  at  every  step..  It  was  a shameful  waste  of 
life  to  send  them  in  under  such  a storm  of  death.  Three  times  had  the 
engineers  made  the  attempt  to  reach  the  gates  with  their  gun  cotton,  but 
each  time  a veritable  hail  of  fire  came  pouring  in  among  them.  It  seemed 
impossible  to  make  any  headway  against  the  unseen  enemy,  safe  behind  the 
frowning  walls  of  his  defense.  Once  more  the  stretcher  bearers  were  at 
work,  and  men  were  scurrying  across  the  open,  daring  death  a thousand  times 
to  save  the  lives  of  less  fortunate  comrades. 

The  casualties  among  the  allies  were  awful.  Colonel  Liscum,  com- 
manding the  Ninth  U.  S.  Infantry,  had  been  killed  earl}^  in  the  day,  and 
General  Fuknshima,  of  the  Japanese,  and  Admiral  Alexieff  of  the  Rus- 
sians, had  narrow  escapes.  The  fire  from  the  Chinese  poured  in  as  relent- 
lessly as  ever,  and  as  a surprise  to  the  allies,  they  were  serving  their  guns 
with  marvelous  accuracy,  and  making  every  shot  tell.  There  seemed  to  be 
no  alternative  but  to  withdraw  the  forces  until  night,  when  the  chances  for 
rushing  the  gates  would  be  decidedly  better,  and  in  the  meantime  bring  all 
the  heavy  guns  to  bear  upon  the  great  wall.  At  dusk  the  bombardment 
went  on  with  more  vigor,  but  there  was  no  let  up  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese, 
who  replied  shot  for  shot. 

The  Japanese  and  French  had  retained  the  position  gained  by  them 
during  the  day,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  dark.  General  Fukushima  ordered  his 
men  forward.  The  Chinese  detected  them,  and  opened  up  a galling  fire, 
but  the  Japs  kept  pushing  forward,  taking  advantage  of  every  chance 
for  cover  offered  b}^  the  mud  huts  that  lined  the  road  near  the  gate.  By 


506 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


iiiidniglit  they  had  reached  a great  barricade  across  the  street  a couple  of 
hundred  yards  in  front  of  the  gate.  The  Chinese  had  a party  to  defend  it, 
but  they  could  not  stand  the  Japanese  ba^^onets,  and  fled  precipitately.  The 
Japanese  rushed  forward  to  catch  them  getting  through  the  gate,  but  the 
Are  from  the  wall  held  them  back  and  they  were  not  in  time. 

The  French  battery  was  now  posted  and  shelled  the  wall  vigorously, 
but  without  perceptible  effect.  General  Fukushima  decided  that  it  must  be 
a rush  after  all,  and  sent  his  plucky  little  men  forward  again.  This 
time  they  made  the  wall,  and  there  they  sta^^ed  in  spite  of  the  desperate 
attempts  of  the  Chinese  to  drive  them  away.  The  engineers  brought  up 
* their  gun-cotton  and  calmly  proceeded  to  blow  down  the  outer  gate.  The 
Chinese  in  swarms  were  firing  over  the  top  of  the  wall,  but  the  Japanese 
were  protected  by  their  position.  The  Chinese  rolled  down  bricks  and 
stones,  but  they  did  not  stop  the  enthusiastic  Japs.  The  little  fellows  had 
taken  scaling  ladders  along  and  now  were  putting  them  to  prompt  use. 
But  those  who  had  no  ladders  were  not  behind  their  fellows.  They  swarmed 
lip  the  wall  by  the  breaks  and  holes  torn  in  it  by  the  heav}^  shelling  and 
rifle  fire  of  the  day.  As  the  first  gate  went  down  with  a huge  crash,  the 
first  of  the  men  reached  the  top  of  the  wall  and  bayoneted  the  Celestials  who 
had  remained  to  defend  it.  A vigorous  resistance  was  still  maintained  by 
the  Chinese  and  the  pile  of  dead  and  wounded  Japanese,  Americans,  and 
Europeans  was  increasing  in  a pitiful  way. 

However,  it  could  not  last,  and  even  before  the  engineers  could  apply 
their  gun-cotton  the  brave  little  fighters  from  the  land  of  the  Mikado  had 
battered  the  locks  and  withdrawn  the  bars  of  the  inner  gates,  and  with  a wild 
cry  of  exultation  rushed  through  a blazing  fire  into  the  city.  British, 
Americans,  and  French  followed.  They  sped  along  the  walls  and  through 
the  streets,  cutting  down  the  rear  of  the  Chinese  army  which  was  in  full 
flight.  The  second  gate  yielded  to  the  onslaught  of  the  Russians,  a few 
hours  later,  and  at  six  o’clock  on  the  morning  of  July  14,  the  stars  and 
stripes  waved  above  the  south  gate  of  the  walled  city  of  Ticn-tsin.  The 
union  jack  of  Great  Britain  cracked  in  the  fresh  breezes  of  the  summer  air, 
above  the  gate  to  the  north,  and  the  Japanese  hoisted  the  bright  red  ball  on 
a ground  of  white  over  the  east  gate,  while  the  red,  white,  and  blue  ensign 
of  France  fluttered  over  the  one  to  the  west.  Troops  of  the  world  thronged 
the  walls  and  looked  down  upon  the  scenes  of  wreck  and  carnage,  amidst 
which  the  subjects  of  the  Empress  Dowager  were  fighting  for  the  stores  of 
treasure  they  had  already  commenced  to  plunder.  Scattered  afar  off  on  the 
yellow  plains  to  the  west  and  north  an  irregular  mass  of  moving  brilliant 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


507 


colors  marked  the  flight  of  the  legions  of  the  “ Son  of  Heaven.”  Tien-tsin 
had  been  taken  ! 

With  the  entry  of  the  allies  and  flight  of  the  Chinese  army,  a carnival 
of  riot  and  loot  began,  which  has  not  had  its  parallel  since  the  Napoleonic 
wars  in  the  beginning  of  this  century.  A mass  of  struggling,  shrieking, 
delirious  men  and  women  fought  their  way  into  the  houses  and  stores  of  the 
wealthy,  to  emerge  therefrom  with  a treasure  as  rich  as  ever  tempted  the 
pirates  of  the  Spanish  main.  Coined  gold,  silver,  diamonds,  jade,  rubies, 
rare  gems,  costly  pearls,  superb  silks,  old  porcelain  and  china,  the  rarest 
works  of  art  of  a civilization  more  than  fort}^  centuries  old,  were  being 
carried  awa}^  b}^  miserable  coolies,  who  had  never  earned  more  than  a few 
cents  a day.  Rolls  of  brocade  so  stiff  and  heavy  the}^  would  stand  alone. 
Rolls  and  rolls  of  priceless  silks,  and  silver  and  gold  brocades  and  laces,  were 
hurriedly  buried  beneath  the  filth  of  subterranean  hovels,  while  the  insa- 
tiable plunderers  hurried  forth  for  more.  Heav}^ -jawed  Chinamen,  and 
Europeans,  too,  struck  down  these  thieves  as  they  came  struggling  along, 
onl}^  to  deprive  them  in  turn  of  their  suddenly-acquired  wealth. 

The  troops  of  the  allies  were  hastily  pushed  forward  to  protect  the 
public  buildings,  where  great  quantities  of  bar  silver  and  gold  were  known 
to  be  stored,  but  the  others  combined  with  the  natives  in  the  riot  of  loot, 
which  followed  for  the  next  few  days.  Stern  measures  were  taken  to  check 
this  riot  of  greed  and  crime,  but  the  efforts  of  the  commanders  were  at  last 
successful,  so  that  some  semblance  of  order  and  discipline  prevailed  at  the 
time  of  the  entry  of  the  main  body  of  the  international  forces  some 
days  later. 

It  was  not  until  August  4 that  the  final  preparations  for  the  march 
on  the  Imperial  City  were  concluded,  and  the  advance  ordered.  In  the 
meantime  the  Chinese  had  been  exceedingl}^  active,  and  reconnoissance 
developed  that  they  were  in  much  greater  strength  than  was  expected. 
Thirty  thousand  troops  had  been  massed  to  resist  the  advance  of  the 
allies,  and  the  Chinese  positions  were  fully  five  miles  long.  However,  the 
advance  was  begun,  and  at  Peitsang,  a few  miles  out  from  Tien-tsin,  a fierce' 
battle  ensued,  during  which  the  allies  suffered  casualties  to  the  number  of 
twelve  hundred,  while  the  Chinese  losses  were  placed  at  about  four  thousand. 

At  Yangtsun,  about  sixteen  miles  beyond,  on  the  road  to  Pekin,  the 
Celestials  made  another  stand.  The  fighting  here  began  at  10  o’clock  in 
the  morning.  The  American  marines,  the  Ninth  Infantry,  Reil^^’s  Bat- 
tery, and  the  Bengal  Lancers,  supported  by  the  Japanese,  advanced  on  the 
right  of  the  railway.  The  Fourteenth  Infantry,  the  Welsh  Fusiliers,  and 


508 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


the  Indian  troops  were  on  the  left.  The  Chinese  artiller}^  fire  was  directed 
at  the  front,  right,  and  left.  Reilly’s  Battery  silenced  the  guns  on  the 
right,  and,  after  several  murderous  volleys,  the  Chinese  retreated  from  the 
position  in  disorder,  carrying  their  dead  and  wounded.  The  occupation  of 
Yangtsun  by  the  allies  was  followed  by  that  of  Tung-chow,  on  the  next  day, 
by  which  time  the  eneiii}^  was  completely  demoralized  and  in  no  condition 
to  give  another  battle  until  reinforced  or  behind  the  protecting  walls  of  the 
capital.  Every  energy  was,  therefore,  bent  toward  reaching  that  place. 

The  march  of  the  allies  along  the  uneven  plains  of  the  Pei-ho  country 
was  an  interesting  spectacle.  It  brought  out  clearly  the  different  methods 
adopted  by  the  military  experts  of  the  world’s  great  nations  to  achieve  the 
same  end.  The  army  transport  was  especially  interesting.  Miles  and  miles 
of  animals  and  vehicles  of  every  description,  accompanied  by  swearing 
troopers  and  excited  coolies,  went  forward  in  a steady  stream.  Japanese 
cows  were  loaded  down  with  the  supplies  for  the  intrepid  little  men  of  the 
Mikado,  and  great,  tall,  uiigainl}^  camels  moved  sedately  under  the  stores  of 
the  Russians.  Chinamen  were  pulling  carts  for  which  there  were  no  horses 
or  mules,  or  staggered  under  the  heav}^  packs  of  the  Americans  and 
French.  Along  the  river  bank  three  thousand  yelling  coolies  pulled  on 
the  tow  lines  of  a fleet  of  more  than  two  hundred  junks  and  scows  loaded 
with  ammunition  and  light  field  pieces.  On  either  side  of  the  long  string 
of  sweltering,  swearing  troopers  was  a motley  crowd  of  hooting  camp 
followers,  struggling  for  positions  closer  to  the  stores,  and  eager  for  the  fall 
of  the  famed  city,  with  its  opportunities  for  glorious  loot. 

News  had  reached  the  allies  that  the  imperial  troops  in  Pekin  had 
become  frenzied  over  the  repulse  of  the  Chinese  army  at  Tien-tsin  and 
Yangtsun,  and,  reinforced  by  a column  of  the  defeated  natives,  were  mak- 
ing more  desperate  efforts  than  ever  to  destroy  the  foreigners  within  the 
legations.  Utmost  haste  was  demanded,  and  the  men  were  hurried  forward 
with  so  much  success  that  on  the  evening  of  August  14  the  imprisoned 
Legationers  beheld  the  forces  of  the  international  army,  sixteen  thousand 
strong,  camped  without  the  walls  of  the  capital. 

At  dawn  of  the  next  morning  the  allies  announced  the  beginning  of 
the  struggle  by  a heav}^  bombardment  of  the  wall  toward  the  east.  As  in 
Tien-tsin,  the  Chinese  replied  vigorously,  though  with  less  deadly  effect. 
The  Japanese  and  Russians  were  attacking  that  portion  north  of  the  Tung- 
chow  canal,  while  the  Americans  and  British  were  on  the  south  side. 
Signals  had  been  arranged  with  the  Legationers,  who  were  thus  enabled  to 
communicate  with  their  friends,  and  advise  the  direction  of  attack.  All 


THE  YELLOIT  EERIE 


50^ 


day  long  the  bombardment  was  continued,  the  Chinese  beating  back 
every  attempt  made  upon  the  gates,  and  giving  evidence  of  the  training 
they  had  undergone  at  the  hands  of  the  European  officers  who  for  three 
years  had  been  teaching  them  the  art  of  handling  the  exquisite  engines  of 
destruction  their  manufacturers  had  supplied. 

At  nightfall  the  Japs  and  big  Cossacks  of  the  Czar  made  one  grand, 
glorious  onslaught  upon  the  two  eastern  gates  of  the  Tartar  City,  which 
yielded  to  the  mighty  force  of  high  explosives,  and  the  first  city  was  taken. 
In  the  meantime,  the  Americans  and  British  had  successfully  blown  up  the 
Tung-pien  gate,  and  entered  the  Chinese  City  to  the  south.  The  two  forces 
of  the  Internationals  were  now  within  the  great  walls,  beating  back  the 
hordes  of  savage  Boxers  contesting  their  way,  or  mowing  down  the  rem- 
nants of  the  Imperial  troops  which  still  remained. 

With  the  fall  of  the  gates,  the  Chinese  army  evacuated  the  capital, 
divided  into  three  columns,  and  scattered  in  opposite  directions.  The 
Empress  Dowager,  the  Emperor,  Prince  Tuan,  and  the  members  of  the 
Imperial  household,  had  escaped  to  the  south  under  escort  of  General  Ma 
and  five  hundred  horsemen,  carrying  with  them  great  stores  of  treasure. 
The  remaining  forces  which  confronted  the  Americans  and  Europeans  in 
the  streets  were  undisciplined  mercenaries  or  fanatic  Boxers,  who  were 
unable  to  withstand  the  attack  of  the  foreigners.  The  bloodshed  was 
awful ; Pekin’s  streets  ran  blood,”  said  one  cablegram.  The  Russians, 
who  had  been  foremost  in  the  savage  attacks,  delayed  their  advance  to  the 
legations,  that  they  might  revel  in  the  slaughter  of  the  women  and  chil- 
dren and  defenceless  coolies  who  thronged  the  streets.  Arson  and  loot, 
and  crimes  much  worse,  marked  the  passage  of  the  big  bearded  men  from 
over  the  Amur. 

While  this  mad  revel  was  going  on  Sir  Alfred  Gaselee  and  staff,  leading 
the  big,  handsome  Sikhs,  waded  up  a bed  of  sewage  in  the  canal  under  the 
Tartar  wall  to  a point  opposite  the  legations,  where  the  survivors  stood, 
frantically  cheering  their  approach.  Generals,  soldiers,  and  correspondents 
scrambled  up  the  banks,  through  the  filth,  each  striving  to  be  the  first  to 
reach  the  scene  where  three  hundred  and  eighty-four  marines  and  eight3^- 
five  volunteers,  commanded  by  the  English  Captain  Poole,  successfully  with- 
stood the  united  forces  of  the  Empress  Dowager  and  the  mystic  I-Ho- 
Chuan,  during  a period  of  fifty-nine  da3^s.  The  reception  which  met  the 
allies  as  they  entered  the  walls  of  the  British  Legation,  amply  repaid  them 
for  the  peril  they  had  undergone.  Men  and  women  surrounded  them, 
laughing,  crying,  and  violently  shaking  each  other’s  hands  in  a perfect 


510 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


delirium  of  When  the  British  flag  went  flying  up  the  halyards  to  the 

loud  acclaim  of  the  weeping  crowds,  a fervent  thanksgiving  to  the  God  of 
Battles  also  went  heavenward  from  the  emaciated  survivors  of  that  mem- 
orable siege. 

An  hour  later  General  Chaffee  rode  in  at  the  head  of  the  Fourteenth  In- 
fantry and  ran  up  the  stars  and  stripes  amid  a scene  of  wild  disorder. 
Officers  and  envoys  withdrew  to  the  buildings  to  exchange  congratula- 
tions and  news,  and  decide  upon  a plan  for  future  action.  While  thus 
occupied,  the  missionaries  and  converts  who  had  escaped  the  general  mas- 
sacre assembled  in  the  vicinity  of  the  famous  Bell  Tower  to  hold  services 
of  praise  and  sing  the  Doxology  with  a new  fervor  born  of  their  happy 
escape.  In  the  evening  blazing  rockets  scurried  through  the  darkness 
above  the  legation  walls,  where  for  many  weeks  only  the  screaming  shells 
of  the  Imperial  artillery  hurtled  their  destructive  way.  Soldiers  of  all 
nations  were  fraternizing  in  the  streets,  and  delicately-nurtured  women  stood 
in  the  midst  of  the  new  excitement  and  applauded  the  burst  of  shell  pouring 
into  the  Sacred  City  of  the  “ Son  of  Heaven.”  A cordon  of  troops  was 
drawn  around  the  walls,  and  that  night  the  Americans  and  Europeans  within 
the  legations  slept  in  safety. 

While  the  Americans  and  British  were  thus  occupied  in  protecting  the 
legations,  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  of  their  respective  governments, 
the  Russians  were  still  engaged  in  the  ruthless  slaughter  of  the  helpless 
Celestials  in  the  city’s  streets,  and  the  plucky  little  Japanese  who  had  borne 
the  brunt  of  every  battle  were  flying  over  the  cracked  plains  of  Shen-si  in 
pursuit  of  the  Imperial  family.  The  rescue  of  the  Legationers  was  not  com- 
plete by  any  means.  Forces  of  Chinese  were  moving  toward  Tien-tsin,  and 
the  army  of  Yuan  Shi  Kai  was  reported  moving  northward,  ten  thousand 
strong.  Communication  with  Tien-tsin  threatened  to  be  cut  off,  and  the 
utmost  vigilance  was  necessary  to  keep  the  line  complete.  Three  millions  of 
crafty  Chinese  were  assembled  in  Pekin  and  it  was  not  known  when  they 
might  turn  in  a frenzy  of  desperation  and  yield  their  lives  in  a frantic 
attempt  to  avenge  the  acts  of  atrocity  the  Russians  were  perpetrating. 

The  scenes  of  riot  and  loot  which  were  enacted  at  the  taking  of  Tien- 
tsin were  repeated  here,  and  vast  stores  of  fabulous  treasure  were  scattered 
far  and  wide  among  the  hordes  of  savages  fighting  for  its  possession.  Rig- 
orous measures  were  resorted  to,  however,  to  quiet  the  excited  natives,  and 
at  the  suggestion  of  the  ministers,  it  was  determined  to  give  the  supersti- 
tious Chinese  a thrilling  example  of  the  impotenc}^  of  all  those  things 
they  had  so  long  regarded  as  sacred  to  the  Oriental.  The  far-famed  For- 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


511 


bidden  ^City,  the  residence  of  the  “ Son  of  Heaven,”  the  consecrated  site  of 
the  ancient  temples,  and  the  very  hol}^  of  Chinese  holies,  was  to  be  dese- 
crated by  the  presence  of  the  foreign  devil.  The  people  of  the  West  cannot 
conceive  the  frightful  catastrophe  which  this  invasion  of  the  sacred  temple 
represents  to  the  superstitions  Mongolian  mind.  For  centuries  he  has  jeal- 
ously defended  this  sacred  city  through  blood  and  fire,  and  innocentl}' 
believed  that  dire  disaster  would  befall  the  foreigner  who  braved  the  defenses 
and  reached  its  inner  precincts.  Within  a week  following  the  eiitr}^  of  the 
international  forces,  the  Purple  City  was  in  the  hands  of  the  allies,  and 
the  armies  of  the  world  paraded  through  the  gorgeous  halls  of  the  palace 
reserved  for  the  “ Son  of  Heaven.”  A cry  of  horror  went  up  from  the 
Chinese  who  witnessed  this  desecration  of  their  deepest  Mystery,  while 
another  cry,'  that  of  thanksgiving  and  jo}^,  went  up  in  the  far-away  homes 
of  the  allied  armies. 

With  the  fall  of  Pekin,  the  Chinese  exhausted  the  full  strength  of 
their  armed  forces  and  the  cunning  of  their  diplomats.  While  the  legations 
were  being  bombarded,  and  their  inmates  terrorized  both  night  and  day, 
under  the  eyes  of  the  Empress  Dowager,  Li  Hung  Chang,  the  most  astute 
of  all  living  diplomats,  sought  to  delay  the  march  of  the  allies  by  every 
subterfuge  at  his  command.  Through  the  Chinese  Ministers,  who  still 
retained  their  posts  at  the  world’s  capitals,  propositions  were  made  to 
Europe  and  America,  but  when  carefully  sieved,  committed  the  Chinese  to 
nothing  definite,  while  it  absolutely  called  for  the  cessation  of  the  advance 
of  the  Internationals.  President  McKinley  demanded  the  delivery,  in 
safety,  of  the  foreign  envo3^s  and  citizens  besieged  within  the  capitol,  as  a 
preliminary  to  an}^  negotiations  the  Chinese  might  wish  to  enter  into. 
This  position  was  maintained  steadily  throughout  the  stirring  events  that 
followed.  The  failure  of  the  Mongols  to  conipl}"  with  this  condition  created 
a doubt  as  to  their  sincerity. 

Minister  Wu,  the  Chinese  Envo}"  at  Washington,  had  communicated 
to  Secretary  Ha^^,  from  time  to  time,  information  concerning  the  safety  of 
the  Legationers,  and  later  presented  what  purported  to  be  an  edict  from  the 
Emperor,  stating  that  the  Imperial  famil}’'  had  been  suppUdng  the  impris- 
oned foreigners  with  food  and  delicacies.  It  was  pointed  out  that  if  the 
Chinese  Government  could  communicate  with  its  representatives  abroad, 
there  was  no  reason  why  the  foreign  powers  should  not  enjo}"  the  same 
privileges  with  their  ministers  in  Pekin.  The  United  States  insisted  so 
strongly  upon  the  recognition  of  its  right  to  do  this,  that  the  Chinese 
minister  undertook  to  get  a cipher  dispatch  through  to  Minister  Conger, 


624 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL 


and  obtain  a reply  if  possible.  This  was  successfully  accomplished,  and 
while  at  iirst  some  doubt  was  expressed  as  to  the  genuineness  of  the  tel- 
egram, a second  message  confirmed  it,  and  the  United  States  was  at  last  in 
communication  with  its  representative. 

Minister  Conger  wired  that  there  was  no  Chinese  Government  with 
whom  to  treat,  and  at  that  time  Li  Hung  Chang  produced  an  edict  from  the 
Emperor  conferring  plenipotentiary  powers  upon  that  statesman  to  secure 
peace  and  tranquillity  ” within  the  Empire.  Negotiations  were  delayed 
upon  various  pretexts.  China  must  pay  for  the  shock  to  the  civilized 
Avorld ! Her  vast  dominions  must  be  apportioned  among  the  outraged 
nations  ! She  must  be  taught  a lesson  which  will  be  of  lasting  benefit ! 

The  question  which  agitated  the  world  was,  who  should  have  the 
greatest  share  ? The  United  States  maintained  that  her  only  purpose  for 
landing  troops  was  to  secure  the  rescue  of  the  foreigners,  and  was  prepared 
to  withdraw  the  moment  order  and  safety  had  been  established.  The  pur- 
poses of  Japan,  England,  France,  and  Germany  were  still  in  doubt. 
Russia  had  quietly  placed  large  bodies  of  troops  in  the  province  of  Man- 
churia, and  rapidly  gained  complete  control  of  that  rich  territory.  Further- 
more, the  Czar  massed  a great  army  along  Siberia  and  Manchuria  for  the 
purpose  of  teaching  a memorable  lesson  to  the  Chinese  who  had  been 
carrying  border  warfare  across  the  long  boundary  line  that  separates  the 
Slav  from  the  Mongol  empire.  Germany  continued  her  activity  long  after 
the  fall  of  Pekin  and  the  acceptance  of  Li  Hung  Chang  as  the  representa- 
tive of  the  Chinese  Government  to  treat  for  peace.  Field  Marshal  Count 
von  Waldersee,  who  had  been  accepted  as  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
allied  forces,  did  not  leave  Vienna  until  August  20,  a week  after  the  fall  of 
the  capital.  France  was  sending  reinforcements  as  rapidly  as  she  could 
put  them  forward,  while  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  held  large 
forces  in  readiness  for  instant  departure.  By  the  middle  of  September,  the 
allied  armies  in  China  numbered  over  one  hundred  thousand  trained  men, 
and  all  Europe  looked  on  to  watch  the  skill  of  their  diplomats  as  they 
played  the  game  of  Empire  ” before  the  gleaming  guns  of  the  world. 

[There  are  97  pages  of  Illustrations,  and  15  pages  of  Contents  of  this  volume  unnumbered. 
These  added  to  the  512  pages  of  Text,  make  the  total  number  of  folios  624,  which  explains  the 
apparent  discrepancy  between  the  last  two  pages. — Publisher.] 


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f.  QF  C.  WOMAm 
5 ATTACKED  BY 
MIDWAY  GUNMAN 

Miss  Blanche  Hardiman,  40  years 
Id,  6325  Kenwood  avenue  an  employe 
the  University  of  Chicago  library, 
#as  criminally  assaulted  last  night  by 
gunman  who  attacked  her  as  she 
t^as  crossing  the  Midway  at  Kenwood 
venue  on  her  way  home. 

Miss  Hardiman  was  walking  along  a 
arrow  board  walk  near  the  skating 
ink,  when  the  man  confronted  her, 
locking  her  way  and  threatening  her 
jdth  a pistol.  In  a low  voice  he  corn- 
handed  her  to  turn  around  and  forced 
ier  to  walk  to  a group  of  shelter 
■ lOUses  on  the  skating  rink,  where  he 
attacked  her,  she  said. 

,|After  the  attack  Miss  Hardiman  fled 
to  a drug  store  at  61st  street  and  Ken- 
wood avenue,  where  she  fainted.  After 
she  had  been  revived  she  told  her 
story  to  the  Woodlawn  police,  who 
started  a search  for  the  rapist.  She 
iescribed  him  as  a man  about  25  years 

3ld. 


■■ 


'''•  V O CV\  ^ 


